Photoshop Elements6 made easy!

Today I stumbled on the lazy man's way of using this program. Click on the Edit button on the upper right hand side. Then select Guided. A dialogue box appears asking what would you like to do?

The drop down menu gives several options-basic photo edits which include cropping, rotating and straightening. Then there is lighting adjustment, color correction. Then there is the Guided Activity The last category allows one to work on a project and is grouped under Photomerge/ Group Photo and Faces.

The tools are easy to use. When you click on the crop icon, a box appears immediately on your subject and all you have to do is to resize it by using the arrows to shift it up or down or left or right. The lighting and color corrections uses a slider for adjustment. The Guided Activity helps to take care of blemishes, scratches and marks in the photos.

I have here a picture of Xiao Hong taken with my Nokia cell phone. The picture has been cropped and adjusted for lighting and color.

Adobe Photoshop Workshop 2007

Sorry, only tea and coffee provided. I don't blame the organizers. I was told there was an audience of close to 4,000. The majority were those in their twenties and early thirties.I found myself lost in the sea of Photoshop's terminology. Did I hear cloze or clone, stack or stuck, opacity or capacity? Whatever it was, fiery Filipina, Marianne sent us reeling with her power knowledge. She even put herself on the chopping board using a picture of herself at her worst and appying the magic of Photoshop to correct the fierce, red blotches on her cheeks. I salute you, Marianne. That was such an effective teaching method. That image will be embedded in my mind for some time.

Christine went on to further prove the limits of Photoshop. Baby fat, unwanted moles, disappearing acts- phew!!! With the click of the mouse using lighting effects, filter, mask -tools in the program, a village girl can be transformed into Miss Malaysia! Now, I understand why some videos are not admissable as court evidence.

The last speaker, a French Australian took Photoshop to the zenith, showing how it can be used by professionals like doctors and architects. It was a long day. Many waited for the lucky draw. The winners were over the moon. The prizes included CS 3, CS3 Extended worth RM4000 or more. There were free courses as well. Unfortunately for me, I have to contend with my now 26 days left of my free download of Photoshop Element 6.

By the way, don't forget your name card for the next workshop. It is used as part of the draw. I took a picture of the event with my Nokia cellphone and took the opportunity to use Photoshop Element 6 to lighten the dark areas, using Enhance >Adjust Lighting.

blog reviews