Photo Manipulation in Adobe Photoshop for Beginners
As a beginner with Photoshop, it can be easy to become lost, or otherwise confused on what steps would be best to try next. Should you start with contrast, color, or noise removal? No matter what kind of photo manipulation you’re doing, your basic steps should always be the same:
1. You should start by going to Image – Mode – 16 Bits/Channel. This is debateable, as 8-Bit often works just fine. See my video on this topic, Tonal Range & Bit Depth.
2. Create a new empty layer, and begin Spotting it.
3. To adjust the contrast, use the Levels Palette to give the image dynamic range.
4. With either Variations, Selective Color Palette or Curves Palette, to make color corrections.
5. By using the Hue and Saturation Palette, you can give the color some pop.
Press CTRL+Shift+S to bring up the ‘Save As’ menu – You should always save a new version of the document. You should also be saving the file as a TIF or PSD file. There is little difference, so the choice is yours. Common naming would be Filename v2.tif
With these steps done, you’re finally ready to get into more detailed photo manipulation.
5. By Cloning the image, you can remove wrinkles and other blemishes.
6. For portraits, you can Whiten the Teeth, Whiten the Eyes, and Retouch the Neck.
Really, the amount of training that is needed to learn Photoshop with a degree of knowledge always seems never-ending. However, if you want some help in learning the skills needed for Photo Manipulation, then please go to The Art of Retouching Website where you can learn about all of these topics, and so many more. And best of all, the website is filled with Free Adobe Photoshop Tutorials.
If you would like to learn more about Photo Manipulation in Adobe Photoshop for beginners, from a Professional Retoucher, I offer Adobe Photoshop Classes. Please contact me today, and I will be able to add you to the schedule too. If you would just like to watch online videos, The Art of Retouching Studio offers many Photoshop Tutorials for Beginners and Advanced users.
