Six Steps to Image Management
Using Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is by far the leading and most popular software available for digital image management. Most of us don't need the pro version - CS2 or CS3 - and can get everything we need with the consumer level version called "Elements." Current versions are Elements 5 (for PC) and Elements 4 (for Mac).

The learning curve can be daunting. There are so many possibilities. And so many people have already "played with Photoshop" and come up with various ways of "fixing" their photos ... which, of course, they'll be happy to tell you about ... that, well, you run the risk of information overload.

So ... where do YOU start?

My philosophy is to keep it as simple as possible - especially at first, and do a few things right. This means - I'm sorry to tell you - avoiding all those little Auto fix options you'll see. They almost never work correctly! So just do yourself - and your pictures - a favor, and don't use them!

If you will develop the habit of following these steps -IN THIS ORDER!!! - every time, I can almost promise you success!

First Things First!

Of course, before you spend your valuable time working on an image, make sure it's an image that's worthy of your effort. I often shoot hundreds of images - you probably do too. And I use a simple photo management system like iPhoto (you can probably use the software that came with your camera or any one of a dozen others) to pick the images that are really worth my time and effort. If I'm really critical, I'll usually find half a dozen images or so that are worth working on. That's one of the beauties - and one of the curses! - of shooting digital. It doesn't cost much at all to shoot a LOT of images. The only problem is that we may find it hard to throw away the bad ones and concentrate on the good ones.

1. Cropping – You may decide that a shot will look better as a vertical composition rather than in the horizontal way you shot it. Or you may just want to cut out some background or something that's just unnecessary. Here's how to proceed: Choose “Crop” tool on Photoshop tool bar (looks like a square with a line through the middle).PS2 Drag the cursor to select the part of picture you want to keep and release the mouse button. Then hit Enter or choose “Crop" from the Edit pulldown menu.

2. Resizing – Go to “Image”, “Resize,” then “Image Size.” ALWAYS resize pictures to 300 dpi resolution. You can resize it to a smaller size to email later. In the “Image Size” window “Document Size” shows size of photo (4x6, 5x7. etc.) NOTE: The reason I say "resize to 300 dpi" is this: Some cameras record data at 72 dpi, some at 180, and others at 300. For example: A 6 megapixel image at 72 dpi might show a measurement - in inches - of 28x40 inches or thereabouts, whereas the same size image recorded at 300 dpi would show a measured size of approximately 6.6x10 inches. They're really almost exactly the same in size and quality. It's just that camera manufacturers have chosen different ways to save images. No big deal.

Here's the point: Most inkjet and commercial printers print at the 300 DPI resolution (It's become the industry standard for "true" photographic quality.)

Get used to working with and saving your Photoshop files this way, and do it ALL THE TIME. Then, when you want to convert a file for e mail - which should be 72 dpi at approximately 640 x ? pixels, all you'll have to do is choose "Save For Web" in Photoshop's File menu. (More detail on this process below)

3. Adjust Density (Lighting) – THIS IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT PHOTOSHOP ADJUSTMENT YOU MAKE TO ANY DIGITAL IMAGE

Go to “Enhance,” “Adjust Lighting,” “Adjust Levels,” (DO NOT adjust “Brightness & Contrast”). Move cursor on Histogram to find “true black” and “true white” on photograph.

4. Adjust Color - Go to “Enhance,” “Adjust Color,”and choose “Adjust Color for Skin Tone,” “Adjust Hue and Saturation” or "Remove Color Cast." (Experiment with these a little. You'll get the knack of it.) DO NOT use “Auto Fix.” It's almost always WRONG!

5. Correct “Red Eye” (if necessary) – Choose “Auto Red Eye Fix”, or pick “Red Eye” tool on tool bar. Go to photo and click on red part of each affected eye to correct color.You can also use “Sponge” on the tool bar to change eye color. Choose “Sponge,” Desaturate, 50%. Then you just drag the sponge over the red area, and watch as it "sucks" the color out. But try the "Auto" fix first. It usually works great.

6. Sharpening - Go to “Filter,” “Sharpen,” “Unsharp Mask,” and adjust sharpness accordingly. Don’t oversharpen. Look at image at 100% magnification while adjusting.

There! You're done.

Now the best thing to do is choose "Save As" under "File," give the image a name that makes sense to you, and save it in a separate folder. It is now ready to print.

So, you've edited a few pictures from the family reunion and you want to share them with everyone via E Mail. Here's how:Using the picture(s) you've just edited with my Six Steps, Choose "Save for Web" (again, it's under the "File" menu). A new window opens up showing you a web-appropriate version of your original. If your Save for Web window shows both your original and the web-appropriate versions side-by-side, you'll notice at the bottom that there's a huge difference in file sizes of the two. That's because Save for Web converts images automatically to 72 dpi.

But you're not quite done. Look at the "New Size" window in the lower right of your screen. Let's say it shows 1024x760 pixels.Choose the higher of the two numbers, select it, and change it to 640 pixels. Click "Apply."

Now look at the Presets (just above the New Size box). In the top box set the preset to "JPEG High." Make sure you're using JPEG, not GIF! (GIF is for graphics, JPEG is for photos). Then move the "Quality" slider left or right until the file size (under your picture) is 100k, or a little less.

Click OK and you're done! No I really mean it this time.

You now have an optimized, ready-to-print version of your beautiful photo AND another version that's ready for the web and e mail.How will you remember which is which? Simple: When you Save for Web in Photoshop the system automatically puts hyphens (-) between the words. So even if the titles are identical, you'll know. Just look for the hyphens - that's the one for e mail.

To check out the first one - How to Colorize a Black & White Photo, go here: Colorizing

And to learn how to put a border around your print so that your image seems to literally "bloom" out over the border, check this out: Border

Back to Home Page