Follow these mouse shortcuts:      SLC= Single Left Click
 DLC=Double Left Click
RC=Right Click (for menu)

I have enjoyed learning how to maneuver through this upgrade to the working folk’s version of Adobe Photoshop. There are three primary modules in PSE3. When you open the program, you will see the Welcome Screen.

Getting your Photos

At first, I was a bit confused on how to use this part of the program. I've been using Photoshop for seven years now for editing and manipulating image files. I had, however, never used any kind of organizer specifically designed for photos. Regardless of the source of your images: i.e.; camera, CD, scanner, or computer, this organizer can work for you. No, it doesn't do it automatically, but makes the process of finding, naming, sorting and tagging your photos simple.

Retrieve your photos - SLC on the camera icon in the button bar. Your choices are:
1. From Camera or Card Reader (this will also import from a thumb drive)
2. From Scanner – if you have a scanner attached you will have to configure first
3. From Files and Folders
4. From Mobile Phone
5. From Online Sharing Service.

I’ll start with #3 - SLC on the camera icon and SLC on From Files and Folders. When the window opens, (it should Look in: My Pictures) find the folder where the images are and when you SLC on the folder, you can then SLC on Get Photos button. You can also change the file type you are importing.

If you plug your camera cord/camera card/thumb drive/CD SOURCE of your pictures into your computer. The Get Photos from Card or Camera will open and search the source for images.  If you do not want PSE3 to automatically open to get new photos, you can turn this off in Preferences. All image files found will be displayed and all images will be checked/selected.

Tell PSE3 what images you want and from where and tell it where you want to store the files.  This is where the use of the Right Mouse Button begins. Remember the RC facilitates a lot of functions in PSE3 Organizer. RC anywhere on the group of images displayed. The menu that pops up offers

You can use the Shift+SLC at the top of a group of images and holding down the Shift key, SLC at the bottom of the group. This allows you to select a consecutive block of files.  Alternately, you can use the Ctrl+SLC to select a group of individual files that aren’t right next to each other. Then RC (on the selection) for the menu and SLC on Uncheck Selected of you don’t want to import the one’s you selected/highlighted.

• Use the slide at the lower right to view smaller or larger thumbnails

• Get photos from allows you to choose another source

• IMPORTANT: this where you choose where your files are saved. Adobe creates a sub-folder in My Documents/My Pictures. If you prefer to have PSE3 save your imported files in another location SLC on Browse…  Choose to create a sub-folder by the date of import or with a name.

• If you’re importing from a camera, you can choose to rename your images so you don’t have to figure out what the file name-numbers mean.

When you’re images have been imported, a window may open if there are any images not successfully saved. You will also be give the opportunity to delete the files from the source – camera or thumb drive. BE SURE OF WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. If you are not ready to delete the image files from the SOURCE, click NO.

The Organizer

A terrific and powerful image management tool, You can work with the images just imported or use the Back to All Photos button to view all images in your catalog.

A few setup tips.

I like to use the Properties window so I can easily see the name, file size and other information about each image. SLC on Window/Dock Properties in Organize Bin to set this. It will dock underneath the TAGs section on the right.

I prefer to view the catalog by Folder Location. In the lower left corner, you should see a text box “Date (Newest First)”. SLC on the down arrow to choose Date-Newest First; Date-Oldest First; Import Batch (to view the files you just imported) or Folder Location.

SLC on Edit/Preferences/General to open the Preferences window. You can fine tune your program to work the way you want to.

You can create more than one Catalog. A single one is easiest. However, if you have multiple users on your computer you may wish to use multiple Catalogs. To create a new catalog SLC on File/Catalog to open a dialog box to manage Catalogs. Your safest bet to save all catalogs is in

c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Catalogs

This setup allows access to this catalog information from any user log in. The default catalog file name is My Catalog.psa. (Note: If you do not see the .psa in the file name, your “view file extensions” is turned off. Let me know and I’ll describe the process to turn on “view file extensions”.)

Now, not only does Adobe Photoshop Downloader catalog the files, it will also copy/import those files to your hard drive. You have to determine where these files will go.  Once again, Adobe has created a folder during installation. It is located in My Pictures folder in the My Documents folder. The subfolder is called Adobe and includes subfolders:  Photos from Removable Media, Digital Camera Photos; Other Photos; & Outgoing E-mail Attachments.

Powerful Tools

Along the bottom of the Organizer next to your choice of sort modes you can Hide/Show Details, Rotate an image 90· right or left, Show/Hide Properties, start a Photo Review. Below this bar is the Status Bar which will give you information and allow you to view Adobe Notifications.

Take the time to familiarize yourself with the Menu bar. It’s your connection to all things PSE3. There are a few items on the button bar for quick access. A back & forward button; camera icon for importing files; printer icon for using your printer or ordering prints via Adobe Photoshop Services through Kodak Easy Share. share icon for access to e-mail; share online; e-mail to a mobile phone, send to a handheld, or publish to a TiVo DVR. Each of these require further setup. Then there are  Undo/Redo buttons and the Create & Edit buttons. On the right side of this bar are the Photo Browser/Date View buttons. The Date View is a calendar.

Among the other functions are Tags, Burn/Backup, Photo Review, Photo Compare, and Stacking and Collections.

Once again, RC in the image area and an extensive menu opens for access to many important functions. I really like Photo Compare and Stacking. Ctrl+SLC on a set of images that are similar. SLC on View/Photo Compare (F12). Photo Review is another quick way to nicely preview all your images (F11)

Pick a group of images that go together and you can Stack them so make take up less space on the organizer.

I find the Tags very helpful. I create a New Tag in the category I want and when I need to work with a specific group of images I can just click on the tag view and see just that group. You can select all image files within a folder by clicking on the folder line (above each group of images within that folder)

A Collection is a container you put photos into. You can drag and drop photos in a Collection into a custom order. A number appears for each photo indicating its position in the order. Unlike tags, you can customize the order in which photos in a Collection appears. This could be used to presort a slide show.

Three Edit Modes

Once you get your photos where you want them, tagged, collected, notated, captioned, stacked, etc., you may need to edit an image. PSE3 offers three ways to manipulate your images. In Organizer, select the image or images you want to edit, SLC on Edit and choose which edit mode you want.

The Auto Fix window will allow you to crop and offers a selection of presets or allows you to define your own size. General Editing allows for Auto Smart Fix, Auto Levels, Auto Contrast, Auto Sharpen. You can easily reset the image if these adjustments don’t suit you.

Quick Fix gives you a little more control over the changes you can make. You can adjust the amount of the Smart Fix, Levels, Contrast, Color and Sharpening. You can zoom in and out, crop, and use the red-eye removal tool if needed.

Standard Edit (Ctrl+I) gives you all the power of editing in PSE3. There are a few items of note:

The toolbar has been reduced to one column. New tools include the Healing Brush, Cookie Cutter shapes, many automatic correction tools, support for digital camera raw data files. The Red Eye Reduction too has been improved also.

The Tool Options bar is available along the top of the workspace.

If you need to work on more than one image, the Photo Bin (at the bottom of the workspace) can be opened for easier access.

The Palette well has been rearranged into a panel along the right side which can easily be customized to the way you work.

The Standard Edit mode allows easy access back to the organizer or you can access image files through the File Browser. When an image is being edited, the Organizer will show you  “Edit in Progress” and have a bar & lock across the image.

Take the time, again, to familiarize yourself with the menu items. Pick a photo and play around with it. This is the best way to learn how to use the program. Remember to save the image you’re working on as another name.

One of the most important functions is the ability to RESIZE your images. Whether you need to save the image in print quality or reduce the size of the file to send it in an e-mail or change the resolution, SLC on Image/Resize. Note the Pixel Dimensions of the image (especially digital camera files. (9.00M means a 9 megabyte file) A too large file will not go over the internet easily.

The ability to Enhance the image uses Automatic settings or allows you to adjust as you like manually. You can SLC on Enhance/Adjust Lighting/Levels (Ctrl+L) to access one of the most powerful manual adjustments in PSE3. Levels opens a dialog box which allows you to “slide” the markers for highlights, midtones and shadows until you get the brightness and contrast as you like. This is more powerful than using just the Brightness or Contrast or even the Shadows and Highlights but you may like how those functions work.

Creations

Well, you’ve taken all these pictures, organized them, edited them, fixed them just so. Now what can you do.  PSE3 has included some fun and interesting tools to create a slide show,

http://www.jolyn.org/ and click on Hacienda Slide Show

create a VCD with a Menu (to play a slide show on a TV’s DVD player), create photo album pages, create a greeting card, a postcard, a wall calendar, or a web photo gallery.

http://www.jolyn.org and click on Hacienda Gallery

Most tools allow you to save as a .pdf file to share over the web, print your own copy of the card, or share with friends and family via e-mail.

After Thoughts

This is a terrific product to get a handle on the images you have in and out of your computer. There are many good programs to use. You may not need the power that Photoshop Elements 3.0 offers. You may need more options. Regardless, this is a fun, interesting way to organize and edit and share you photos.  I hope you have as much fun with it as I have.

If you are using PSE 2.0 and also have Photoshop Album, you may not need to purchase this new version. Yes, you’ll miss a few tools, but 2.0 is still a strong program and the separate program Album has been integrated in Version 3.0.

The last PhotoShop Elements SIG will be held next Tuesday, May 24, at 4:00pm in the Resource Center. No SIGs during the summer, but will be back in the fall. During the summer, I’ll be at the Center on Tuesday afternoons for your questions.

In the fall we will hold a workshop that focuses more on the editing mode and creation mode of Adobe’s Photoshop Elements 3.0. . . ;-} jolyn
 

Follow these mouse shortcuts:  SLC= Single Left Click
DLC=Double Left Click
RC=Right Click (for menu)

In April, I talked primarily about Photoshop Elements 3.0 Organizer. This new edition to a terrific image editing, management and creation tool from Adobe deserves two workshops. Remember, PhotoShop & Image Editing SIG on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 4:00 pm at the Resource Center. We can discuss all your questions and ideas and solutions.

Regardless of which edit mode you use, one of the most important things to learn about is the file format. This determines the type of file your image becomes. You can either save in a .psd, .jpg or any of a number of file types at this point. If you use the .psd format (which is the PhotoShop default), you will be able to return to the image and make changes in the future. .psd will maintain the layers you create during editing. Once you are ready for output, you may also want to save the image as a .jpg or other format to suit your needs. When you save an image after an edit, you have the option of saving it as a new file instead of overwriting the original image.

Editing
Auto Fix
The Auto Fix window will allow you to crop and offers a selection of presets or allows you to define your own size. General Editing allows for Auto Smart Fix, Auto Levels, Auto Contrast, Auto Sharpen. You can easily reset the image if these adjustments don’t suit you.
• from the Organizer window, SLC on the image you want to edit
• SLC on Edit on the Button Bar or Menu Bar
• SLC on Auto Fix Window
At this point you can crop and auto enhance your image. I usually enhance the image first and then do a crop as needed.
• SLC on Auto Smart Fix to effect levels, contrast, sharpness
• SLC on Auto Levels, Auto Contrast or Auto Sharpen to effect just one enhancement
• SLC on Reset Image at the bottom of the panel
• SLC on More Editing will take you into the Standard Edit Mode for more options
• along the bottom panel are the Rotate, Full/Zoom View and Zoom Slide
• SLC on the Crop button at the top right to crop to a variety of preset photo print sizes or a square. You are limited to the presets in this mode.

Quick Fix
The Quick Fix mode gives you a little more control over the changes you can make. Adjust the amount of the Smart Fix, Levels, Contrast, Color and Sharpening. You can zoom in andout, crop, and use the red-eye removal tool if needed.
• from the Organizer window, SLC on the image you want to edit
• SLC on Edit on the Button Bar or Menu Bar
• SLC on Go to Quick Fix ...
In the Quick Fix mode, look to the left-hand column to see the Zoom, Move, Crop and Remove Red Eye tools. Along the top of the workspace is the options bar for each of the tools. Along the bottom of the workspace you will see a View options box. Below that, if you are editing more than one image at a time, you can use the Photo Bin.

To the right of the workspace are the “fixes”
General Fixes
•  Choose to rotate the image if needed.
•  Select Auto - Smart Fix
•  Use the slider to select the degree of “fix”
Lighting
• Choose Auto Levels
• Choose Auto Contrast
or
• Select your own settings for Shadows, Highlights (Levels) & Midtones (Contrast)
Color
• Select Auto Color
or make changes to
• Saturation - The purity, or strength, of a color. Also called chroma. A fully saturated color contains no gray. Saturation controls make colors more vivid (less black or white added) or more muted (more black or white added).
• Hue - The color reflected from or transmitted through an object. In common use, hue is the property that allows a color to be distinguished as red, blue, yellow, and so on; the “color of a color.”
• Temperature - The position of a color along a continuum from warm (red) to cool (blue)
• Tint - A variation of a color produced by adding white, thus decreasing saturation and increasing lightness.
Sharpness
• The Sharpen filters focus blurry images by increasing the contrast of adjacent pixels.
• Click Auto Sharpen to use the default amount of sharpening. Drag the slider to vary the amount of sharpening. Zoom your preview to 100% to get a more accurate view of the amount of sharpening you are applying.

You can always reset the image to it’s original state if you’re not sure of the change and need to start over. Auto Fix or Quick Fix may work for most of your editing needs. If you need a little more detail in the changes you make, you may wish to go to Standard Edit.

Standard Edit
Standard Edit can be reached from the Organizer by a click on Edit/Go to Standard Edit ... or by pressing the key combination Ctrl+I (the letter i). When your window opens you will have a view of your image in the workspace. When an image is being edited, the Organizer will show you “Edit in Progress”. The Toolbar is setup on the left side of the workspace with the tool options bar running along the top below the Menu & Button bars.

The toolbar has been reduced to one column. New tools include the Healing Brush, Cookie Cutter shapes, many automatic correction tools, support for digital camera raw data files. The Red Eye Reduction too has been improved also.

At the bottom of the workspace is the Photo Bin. If you are working with more than one image, you can easily switch between images via the Photo Bin.

In the right-hand column is the Palette Well. These tools expand and collapse as needed by a click on the white arrow at the left of each header. The How To, Styles & Effects and the Layers palettes are there by default. I usually work with Layers, Undo History & Navigator palettes open. Click on Window in the Menu bar to access these two additional palettes. I’ve found this the best setup for most editing I do.

Layers are a most important tool for working with your images. You can do a lot of changes to the “background” layer, but not all changes work. You will note the layer is generally called “background”. Using layers allows you to isolate and enhance, replace or remove certain areas of an image.

To add a new layer
• SLC on Layer
• SLC on Duplicate Layer
• When the Layer dialog box opens, just click OK or give it a name.
or
• “drag” the background layer to the new layer icon in the palette (small icons just above the layer)

Remember, in PSE3.0 you can hover over a button and wait for the tool tip to pop up and remind you what it is.

Take the time to play around with each of the tools. Open an image. Save it as a new file (with a different file name such as “practice.psd”). You will eventually set your own “rhythm” in the way you work with the tool palette, tool options bar, layers, enhancements and effects. Generally, my rhythm goes something like this.
• When the image first opens, I immediately save it as a new file with a new name to protect the original image. If working from the Organizer, there will be some automation to this function.
• I generally save as a .psd for flexibility in future changes to the image.
• Create a duplicate layer to work on so the lock on the background layer doesn’t interfere with changes.
• Check my Background & Foreground colors. If I’m working on a photo, I often reset the colors to black & white by clicking on the color palette reset button at the bottom of the tool bar.
• Depending on the ultimate use of the image I resize the image. One of the most important functions is the ability to RESIZE your images. Whether you need to save the image in print quality or reduce the size of the file to send it in an e-mail or change the resolution,
• SLC on Image/Resize. Note the Pixel Dimensions of the image (especially digital camera files. (9.00M means a 9 megabyte file)
• A too large file will not go over the internet easily. If you are going to create a slide show, VCD or web gallery, you will need to resize all images to the same size and resolution so they will all relate to each other.
• SAVE THE IMAGE (either Ctrl+S, SLC on the Save icon or Alt+File/Save)
• Then I begin the enhancement process. Enhance in the Menu Bar allows the following. Auto Smart Fix, Auto Levels, Auto Contrast, Auto Color Correction or you can keep more control of changes by using Adjust Smart Fix, Adjust Lighting, Adjust Color. Again, use your practice image to make changes to see how each of these adjustments work.
• The ability to Enhance the image uses Automatic settings or allows you to adjust as you like manually. You can SLC on Enhance/Adjust Lighting/Levels (Ctrl+L) to access one of the most powerful manual adjustments in PSE3. Levels opens a dialog box which allows you to “slide” the markers for highlights, midtones and shadows until you get the brightness and contrast as you like. This is more powerful than using just the Brightness or Contrast or even the Shadows and Highlights but you may like how those functions work.
• SAVE THE IMAGE
• If you need to punch up an area, or blur a background, or cut something out entirely, use the Selection menu and the Selection Tools. These include the Rectangular & Elliptical Marquee Tools, the Standard, Magnetic & Polygonal Lasso Tools, the Magic Wand and the Selection Brush tool. Each does a specific selection process depending on your needs. My favorite combination is using the magic wand and the selection brush to get exactly what I want to select. You can also make some interest effects by feathering the selection. If you have a selection to repeat in multiple areas or different images or to later use in a mask effect, you can save, load or delete a selection.
• SAVE THE IMAGE
• The Filter effects include Artistic, Brush Strokes, Distort, Sketch, Stylize, & Texture among others. These are accessible either from the Menu list or from the Filter Gallery. Use your practice.psd to experiment with different effects.
• SAVE THE IMAGE

Creations
Each of these creations can be accessed from your Organizer. To access Creations do one of the following:
• In the Photo Browser, choose File > New> (creation).
• In the Editor, choose File > New > Creation. Select your choice and click OK.
• Click the Create button in the Organizer. Select your choice and click OK. You can use your Organizer to select, group or tag the images you want to include. You are also able to add or remove images once you have started each creation wizard.

Slide Show
There are two modes for Slide Show creation - Custom or Simple. Simple may be all you need. PSE3 will take your creation and save it as a PDF file which can be read on any system which has Adobe Acrobat Reader on it. (You may need to update your version.)
Simple Slide Show
• Your images will be displayed. You can drag them to reorder them as needed.
• Slide Show Options allow you to choose the type of transition, duration of transition, looping, & viewing upon saving
• Photo Options allow you to size the images to your viewing screen as well as picking the output quality of the images.
Once all choices have been made, SLC on Save and select the location for the .pdf file to be saved.
Custom Slide Show
• Your 1st image will appear in the main workspace with the remaining images in a film strip below.
• Both the Menu bar and the Button bar give access to various functions. You can add more images, add music, and even add a voice recorded narration.
• You can reorder the slides by dragging them to the place you want them.
• You can create Title slides in Edit mode and add them as well.
• Preview the slide show by using the play/stop/pause controls below the main image.
• You can change the duration of the image as well as the duration of the transition between images.
• When you add music you can have the slides change to the beat of the music by using Fit Slides to Audio
Remember that 5 seconds can be a long, long time to view a slide. Try 3 or 4 seconds with a 1 or 2 second transition time. If you want to fit slides to your audio, these times will be changed.

Create VCD with Menu
If you are interested in view your slide shows on your TV through your DVD player, PSE3 has a wizard to help you do this. You MUST first create your slide shows and export them or save them in a WMV (windows media/video) format.
• Be sure that all your custom slide shows are saved and are now in your organizer. When you are ready to save the slide show, choose the option Output as WMV. Then be sure that your organizer “sees” it.
• Most wmv files want to be saved to the My Videos folder in My Documents. ▸ It will take quite some time to save a wmv file depending on the number of slides.

Photo Books & Album Pages
• Step 1, Select a Style, Select your options (title, captions, page numbers, photos per page) SLC on Next Step.
• Step 2, Arrange your photos by dragging them into position, SLC Next Step
• Step 3, View each page, add text as needed. You can change the font style, size and color. SLC Next Step
• Step 4, Save - be sure to check Show these photos in my Photo Browser when finished to add to the organizer.
• Step 5, Share allows you to determine saving the book, printing the book or sharing the book via e-mail.
Be sure to click Done when complete to return to your Organizer.

Greeting Cards
• Step 1, Select the Style of you card
• Step 2, If you are using multiple images, this is where you arrange them.
• Step 3, Create the text on the front and inside of the card
• Step 4, Save ( be sure to remember to have it show the photos in the organizer) SLC on Save to complete this step.
• Step 5, Share allows you to save as a PDF, e-mail or print the card.
Be sure to click Done when complete to return to your Organizer

Photo Card
Basically the same as photo books & greeting cards as far as creation, but you can also order the photo cards printed via online.

Wall Calendar
Select all 13 photos you wish to use in your calendar then SLC on Create/Calendar
• Step 1, Choose layout & dates
• Step 2, Arrange the photos in the order you wish them to appear
• Step 3, Customize by including your own titles & captions
• Step 4, Save
• Step 5, Share
Be sure to click Done when complete to return to your Organizer.

Web Gallery
The web gallery wizard will open. Your images will be displayed on the left. You can drag them to reorder them. Choose a style from the Gallery Style menu. A preview of the home page for the chosen style appears below the list. At the bottom, type a name in the Site Folder text box for the folder that will contain your gallery files. When you’re done creating the web photo gallery, you’ll copy these files to a web server. If necessary, click Browse and select the location where you want to save the web photo gallery files. Anyone wanting more info on this process, please come to the PSE/Image Editing SIG.
 

Also, from time to time, I'll add to my gallery of graphics, images, photos & web pages done with Photoshop at http://hhicomputerhelp.com & http://jolyn.org

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