Photoshop Tutorials: Basics: Getting Started

Hi everyone! I've gotten so many emails about Photoshop and my techniques that I thought I would just start blogging tutorials. First off, let me just say that I do not know (or pretend to know) everything about Photoshop and if you should happen to talk to someone who SAYS they know everything there is to know about Photoshop, you should just knock them out because they are lying. (seriously, a gentle pat and a smart a** comment should knock them down a pipe or two) Photoshop is EXTENSIVE a bit overwhelming to any new (or experienced) artist.

Photoshop has many different uses, so please understand that you do not need to know what every button, layer, channel, filter, etc, is. (<---- please note I am not an English teacher. I know that sentence was a terrible one, however, I'm not getting graded so just ignore grammatical errors please) Photoshop can be used for painting, drawing, design work and photo editing. I'm sure there are many more uses for it, but my point is to figure out what you are wanting to get out of Photoshop. A designer might want to spend several days coming up with their on patterns, but a photographer (standard family/wedding photographer; NOT magazine or a more "new age" photographer) really will have no use for it and should not waste their time. Even with it narrowed down to what you are expecting out of Photoshop, it is still daunting. I'll try and explain this as simply as I can (because honestly, who has time to READ!!!! lol)

When you open an image in Photoshop or when you create a new document in Photoshop (File > New) a dialogue box will open up:

(As you can tell, I'm not on a Mac... long story, but that "rainbow wheel of death" was bringing back memories a little too traumatic for me... mainly college deadlines and dreams going down the drain... hahaha) As you can see, there are SEVERAL important thing going on here.

Ok, so first thing, pixels... ah, those wonderful little dots of colors you see when you zoom into a photo. Love them. Hate them. Can't live without them. I really will only use pixels if I am going to create a Logo or an image for Facebook. In all honesty, if a website says an image needs to be 400 pixels (px) x 600 px, then you should use pixels. If not, by all means, use inches. Cm, mm, points, picas and columns... forget you ever saw them. You don't need them.

Now for the resolution. Resolution tells you how many of those little colored dots (*ahem* pixels) are found in one inch. More important to us, it tells us how close we can zoom in before our picture no longer looks crisp and clear. So a super high resolution is best, right? WRONG! You really only need to go to about 300 ppi (pixels per inch) in order to print a quality photograph. Any higher, is for your benefit, but it will not be noticeable on a print (unless, of course you are making a billboard sign. But I haven't done that... yet... lol). Typically, I'll make an image 720 ppi to start and then resample the image down to a resolution of 300 ppi. As awesome as it is to have this super large image, it takes up A LOT of space and it really isn't beneficial as far as printing is concerned. Typically, 72-120 ppi is acceptable for a smaller web design. If you are uploading your images to facebook, this size will work, but it will look pixelated... let's be honest here, Facebook ruins image quality. Not sure why, it just does... it probably is targeting me out ;) So don't worry too much about resolution if your only goal is to post it, never for printing.

This is the color mode (as you can read for yourself from the image lol). If you do not remember anything from this tutorial, remember this NEVER USE GRAYSCALE. If you have a RAW file, and you switch it to a grayscale image in RAW, you can always adjust that. If you use the Grayscale Color Mode, you will not be able to put color into your photograph- at all- so no color watermark/logo/selective color... nothing. It'll convert it into a lovely shade of Gray...hmmm... (my mind is going other places now--- shoot--- ok I'm back). Adobe RGB is the standard Color Mode. It is really what I use 90% of the time. Mainly bc I always forget to switch it until I go to assign a Color Profile (for printing). Here's a brief explanation about each color mode (from the Adobe site with me breaking it down a bit):

RGB Color mode

Photoshop RGB Color mode uses the RGB model, assigning an intensity value to each pixel. In 8‑bits-per-channel images, the intensity values range from 0 (black) to 255 (white) for each of the RGB (red, green, blue) components in a color image. For example, a bright red color has an R(red) value of 246, a G(green) value of 20, and a B(blue) value of 50. When the values of all three components are equal, the result is a shade of neutral gray. When the values of all components are 255, the result is pure white; when the values are 0, pure black.
RGB images use three colors, or channels, to reproduce colors on screen. In 8‑bits-per-channel images, the three channels translate to 24 (8 bits x 3 channels) bits of color information per pixel. With 24‑bit images, the three channels can reproduce up to 16.7 million colors per pixel. With 48‑bit (16‑bits-per-channel) and 96‑bit (32‑bits-per-channel) images, even more colors can be reproduced per pixel. In addition to being the default mode for new Photoshop images, the RGB model is used by computer monitors to display colors. This means that when working in color modes other than RGB, such as CMYK, Photoshop converts the CMYK image to RGB for display on screen.
Although RGB is a standard color model, the exact range of colors represented can vary, depending on the application or display device. The RGB Color mode in Photoshop varies according to the working space setting that you specify in the Color Settings dialog box.

CMYK Color mode

In the CMYK mode, each pixel is assigned a percentage value for each of the process inks (Meaning that the colors in your printer have a certain % value and Photoshop attempts to match those % with the colors on your screen. By doing so, Ps is attempting to show you how your image will look once it's printed. That's really all you need to know.) The lightest (highlight) colors are assigned small percentages of process ink colors; the darker (shadow) colors higher percentages. For example, a bright red might contain 2% cyan, 93% magenta, 90% yellow, and 0% black. In CMYK images, pure white is generated when all four components have values of 0%.
Use the CMYK mode when preparing an image to be printed using process colors. Converting an RGB image into CMYK creates a color separation. If you start with an RGB image, it’s best to edit first in RGB and then convert to CMYK at the end of your editing process. In RGB mode, you can use the Proof Setup commands to simulate the effects of a CMYK conversion without changing the actual image data. You can also use CMYK mode to work directly with CMYK images scanned or imported from high-end systems.
Although CMYK is a standard color model, the exact range of colors represented can vary, depending on the press and printing conditions. The CMYK Color mode in Photoshop varies according to the working space setting that you specify in the Color Settings dialog box.

Lab Color mode

The CIE L*a*b* color model (Lab) is based on the human perception of color. The numeric values in Lab describe all the colors that a person with normal vision sees. Because Lab describes how a color looks rather than how much of a particular colorant is needed for a device (such as a monitor, desktop printer, or digital camera) to produce colors, Lab is considered to be a device-independent color model. Color management systems use Lab as a color reference to predictably transform a color from one color space to another color space.
The Lab Color mode has a lightness component (L) that can range from 0 to 100. In the Adobe Color Picker and Color panel, the a component (green-red axis) and the b component (blue-yellow axis) can range from +127 to –128.
Lab images can be saved in Photoshop, Photoshop EPS, Large Document Format (PSB), Photoshop PDF, Photoshop Raw, TIFF, Photoshop DCS 1.0, or Photoshop DCS 2.0 formats. You can save 48‑bit (16‑bits-per-channel) Lab images in Photoshop, Large Document Format (PSB), Photoshop PDF, Photoshop Raw, or TIFF formats.


IN ALL HONESTY, STICK TO RGB or CMYK. IT'S JUST EASIER...

 

Lastly, is the background. This box is only for the bottom layer. It is asking you if you want the background of your bottom layer to show what it'll look when it's printed on paper (aka WHITE background); on a color (aka BACKGROUND COLOR {it's the color you see when you are looking at your screen [see top IMAGE] in the tools panel that is the bottom-most color); or on a transparent or NO COLOR background. Think of it this way- remember when your teachers used to use transparency paper on an overhead projector, (s)he was able to draw/write and you could see everything. Then, they would put a white piece of paper and you couldn't see anything, but they could still see... same concept. Having a transparent background is beneficial for a final .png or .psd file because you can post it to any color web image, paper, etc and the background will not be visible-- only the design--. If you have a white background, you are still able to post to any paper, but if you want ONLY your image to appear, you are limited to a white background for web (still not bad though). I typically will fill the background with white and then delete that layer in the end if I am making a .png Logo. Do want you will lol! Good luck and please email me questions! MOOSEinkDesign it is at Yahoo :)

Tomorrow, I am hoping to be more productive earlier in the day, so I will attempt a crochet tutorial. You can find my personal blog (At the Corner of Crafty and Crazy) HERE!