Basic Photo Corrections
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
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Photoshop includes a variety of tools and commands for improving the quality of a photographic image. This lesson steps you through the process of correcting and enhancing a digital photograph.
Opening a file with Adobe Bridge
For each lesson in this book, you can perform the steps using files from a specific folder. You may make copies of these files and save them under different names or locations, or you may work from the original files and then download them from the peachpit.com website again if you want a fresh start. In this lesson, you’ll start by improving a photo taken with a digital camera.
In Lesson 1, “Getting to Know the Work Area,” you used the Open command to open a file. You’ll start this lesson by comparing the original image to the finished image using Adobe Bridge, a visual file browser that integrates with Photoshop and other Creative Cloud applications.
Start Photoshop, and then simultaneously hold down Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift (macOS) to reset the default settings.
When prompted, click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the Adobe Photoshop Settings file.
Choose File > Browse In Bridge. If you’re prompted to enable the Photoshop extension in Bridge, click Yes or OK.
Adobe Bridge opens. In its Folders panel, you can browse and opens files on your computer like you can on your computer desktop. What Bridge offers are features useful for graphics work, such as managing camera metadata. For example, you can view a photo’s exposure data and add a caption, a star rating, and keywords.
Select the Folders tab in the upper-left corner, and then browse to the Lessons folder you downloaded to your computer so that the lessons in the Lessons folder appear in the Content panel.
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With the Lessons folder still selected in the Folders panel, choose File > Add To Favorites.
The Favorites panel lets you quickly access files, folders, applications, and other assets that you frequently use.
Click the Favorites tab to open the panel, and click the Lessons folder to open it. Then, in the Content panel, double-click the Lesson02 folder.
Thumbnail previews of the folder contents appear in the Content panel.
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Compare the 02_Color_Start.jpg and 02_Color_End.psd files. To enlarge the thumbnails in the Content panel, drag the thumbnail slider at the bottom of the Bridge window to the right.
In the 02_Color_Start.jpg file, notice that the tonal contrast and color saturation are weak. You’ll fix these problems in this lesson.
Double-click the 02_Color_Start.jpg thumbnail to open the file in Photoshop. Click OK if you see the Embedded Profile Mismatch dialog box, and close any messages that might appear about new features.
In Photoshop, choose File > Save As. Choose Photoshop from the Format menu, and name the file 02_Color_Working.psd. Then click Save.
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