Photoshop For Beginners #1 - Cropping

[niq]

I've gathered from general chit chat that some people are not very confident when it comes to basic editing techniques.
I am certainly no expert - and I am still learning my self, BUT there are a few little tips I can certainly share with you
I have really tried the last year or so to learn as much about Photoshop as I can - the best way I have learnt is to attend some basic skills classes, that way I had a better understanding of WHY things are done, and what the basics mean.

WHY should we edit our photos? Some of you may not want to - you might like the here - and now aspect of scrapping unedited photos - the unedited version tells the story of what is happening - and that is perfectly fine

BUT - I have always liked to "tweak" photos - just to make them "pop" more on my page - bring the viewer's eye to the photo, as that is what my aim of scrapping is - to highlight my photos, and tell the story of them through my journalling IYKWIM....

SO, that is why I like to play - and really, there are just so many tips at our fingertips, with Utube, books, beginners classes etc etc.
I am hoping to bring you some REALLY basic ideas to help your photos "pop" from the page.

[niq]

Step 1

Before you do any playing or tweaking there are 2 things you need to remember to safeguard yourself against losing your precious images entirely.

One

Save your image in "As a Copy"
To do this

1. Go Into File - Save As and "Click"
2. Click on "As A Copy" which can be found as shown:

Before-we-begin.jpg

3. Then click "Save" - You are now working on a copy of your original, and if there are any majoy boo-boos, you still have your original copy!

Two

My favourite function on my computer is "Control Z "
This will undo anything you have just done - and it is often my saviour on a whole range of computer muck ups I manage to do!

Simply - Hold down your control key, and hit your "Z" - that will undo anything you have done straight away

[niq]

Step 2

1. Open your image.
- Now if you know exactly what image you want - fantastic!
- If you are like me, and need to decide first the exact image you want to use, then this little trick is really nifty - and I didn't know I could do it until I did a basic class!

Simply hold down the Control key as you click on each image you want

You should notice that each image you have selected is highlighted in blue, and the images are listed in your dialogue box, as shown.

Step-1.jpg

This will open ALL the photos you want to use in one hit, and saves you wasting time jumping from one window to another!

[niq]

Step 3

Click on "Image" and then "Crop"

- You will notice a little box will appear around your photo - with dotted lines I will keep referring to as your marching ants

step-2.jpg

Step-4.jpg

Now, you will notice a drop down box - this holds a few standard photo sizes - and saves a whole heap of time fiddling with setting the sizes yourself. Select the size you want from the box, or type in the size you want in the boxes next to it.

Step-3.jpg

This is importantMake sure you also set your ppi at 300

Pixels are what we alter of an image in Photoshop- they are the smallest building blocks of your image. If you zoom in on your photo, you will see the pixels - the little squares of colour.
ppi is Pixels Per Square Inch - so if you set it at 300, you are setting your image to have 300 pixels per square inch This will give your photo a high resolution - which equates to a high quality image.

Now - adjust your marching ant box as desired - remember the "Rule of Thirds" basic composition rule in Scrapbooking? The same thing applies here, keep focal points - like eyes/mouth etc along one of the "third lines" Now's your chance to crop out any distracting elements too
When you are happy with your image, you can click on the tick, or go back to Image, and click on crop again - your image will be cropped - Only the image inside the marching ants will be left.

[niq]

Extra Hint

To add interest to a portrait photo, sometimes it works to place your crop on an angle.
1. to do this, over your pointer around the corner of your image and turn it - so that the marching ants are sloped.

Step-5-layered.jpg

This adds more interest to your photo - and I use this technique if I want to do a fun, happy layout

Step-6.jpg

Well, that's about it for the first installment of SnB's Photoshop for Beginners...
Hope you enjoyed it folks!

In two weeks, I'll cover another simple technique to give your photos "POP"- Adjusting Lighting and Colour

[JaneB]

awesome Niq, thanks for sharing your tips on how to use photoshop, maybe I'll even get the hang of it

[Lisa]

Thanx Niq i will def give this a go.

[allyh]

thanks niq for this. I think this section will be of great help to alot of people. I have just upgraded to photoshop CS5, thanks to my lovely DH, freebie off the web. works great but now, I have to learn all the new features on it. I use to have photoschop CS2, so a huge difference I will find.

[allyh]

Since getting photoshop CS5, I have come across this "welcome to adobe community help" area. this is it http://www.adobe.com/support/photoshop/ . it has some great online tutorials to help you get the best out of photoshop.

any new little tips i acquire, i will put them in here for you all too.

[niq]

Thanks Ally - we are all here to learn -and I love getting new tips to get the most out of Photoshop.
I don't have CS5 - just Photoshop Elements, and I find that sufficient for all I want to do - but I've heard CS5 is brilliant!!

[tonim]

Great work Niq Im absolutely photoshop stupid I did learn how to make it all b&w and then re-colour one section, but thats about my only claim to fame...lol!!!!

I just learnt about the 'control' key when wanting to group odd things together at Tafe and I tell you it would have saved me hours at the BigW photo kiosk if Id known about it earlier. I used to have to just take the whole album, but now armed with the 'control' key I can pick and choose

Ill be following your tips with enthusiam