Beginner Photoshop Elements Handout

Above is a screenshot of the User Interface for Photoshop elements. This course will cover the basics of how to understand and utilize this interface.

The User Interface Broken Down

#1) This is the program ribbon for Photoshop elements. It provides access to the ‘File’ button, which allows users to save their progress. It also contains many other buttons that can be used to manipulate what appears on the screen or make adjustments to the photograph.

#2) This ribbon allows users to switch between the 3 different modes of Photoshop Elements: Quick, Guided, and Expert. For the purpose of this course we will remain in Quick mode.

#3) This is the Photoshop Elements toolbar. It contains multiple tools used to edit your project. They are (from top to bottom): Zoom Tool, Hand Tool, Quick Selection Tool, Red Eye Removal Tool, Whiten Teeth, Horizontal Type Tool, Spot Healing Brush Tool, and Crop Tool.

#4) This is your workspace. This is where you will edit your photograph.

#5) The right side of the screen displays the multiple editing tools used in Photoshop Elements Quick mode. They are: Smart Fix, Exposure, Levels, Color, Balance, and Sharpen.

#6) This bottom toolbar has a variable display. It can either display your photo bin (all the photos you have imported to edit) or the tool options for any tool currently selected.

Photoshop Elements Editing Explained

Each option on the right side of the screen allows you to make a certain type of adjustment to your photograph. Their function is outlined below.

Smart Fix: Using this will instruct Photoshop to attempt to automatically edit your photo for the best results. (I highly recommend avoiding this option as it does not allow you to visualize what edits are being made).

Exposure: This digitally adjusts the exposure of the photograph. Using this setting will make the photo look darker (underexposed) or washed out (overexposed).

Levels: This allows you adjust the shadows, midtones, and highlights of the photograph. Adjusting these settings will determine how potent or diminished the shadows, midtones, or highlights appear in the photograph.

Color: This allows you to adjust the saturation, hue, and vibrance of your photograph. Adjusting the saturation or vibrance will affect the purity of the colors (i.e. How red the red looks or how green the green appears). Hue will shift the entire color spectrum towards a selected color (i.e. making everything look more red or more green).

Balance: This function adjusts the white balance of the photograph. It allows you to make the photograph appear like it was light under florescent lighting (more blue) or tungsten lighting (more yellow).

Sharpen: This function attempts to correct blurry photographs. It should only be used to attempt to correct blur and will have a negative effect on already well detailed photographs.

Sam’s Beginner Tips

  • To bring a photo into Photoshop click the ‘OPEN’ button located near the top left of the program screen. Locate your photo and click open to bring it into Photoshop.
  • While editing you can view the edited and original version of your photograph side by side. To do this look directly to the right of the Zoom Tool. You will see the word ‘View’ followed by a drop down menu that currently says ‘After Only’ Click this drop down menu and change the option to ‘Before and After – Horizontal’.
  • To export your finished photograph, click File > Save As. Rename the photo if desired and make sure the format selected is JPEG. Click save to bring up one final screen. Select the desired quality of the photograph (higher quality = larger file size) and click OK to save.

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