Richard Harrington - Understanding Adobe Photoshop CS6: The Essential Techniques for Imaging Professionals

The Essential Techniques for Imaging Professionals

Richard Harrington

Understanding Adobe Photoshop CS6:
The Essential Techniques for Imaging Professionals

Richard Harrington

Peachpit Press
1249 Eighth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
510/524-2178

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Peachpit Press is a division of Pearson Education

Copyright 2013 by Richard Harrington, LLC

Project Editor: Nancy Peterson
Production Editor: Myrna Vladic
Development/Copy Editor: Anne Marie Walker, Robyn G. Thomas
Technical Editor: Wayne Palmer
Compositor: Kim Scott, Bumpy Design
Interior Design: Danielle Foster
Proofreader: Liz Welch
Cover Design: Mimi Heft
Indexer: Jack Lewis
Media Producer: Eric Geoffroy

Notice of Rights
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact .

Notice of Liability
The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.

Trademarks
Adobe and Photoshop are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit was aware of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark. All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

ISBN-13: 978-0-321-83462-1

ISBN-10: 0-321-83462-3

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed and bound in the United States of America

To my wife Meghan, your patience and support fill my life with meaning. Thank you for your love and all that you do.

To my children Michael and Colleen, your curiosity and love inspire me. As you grow, you teach me what it means to be a better man.

To my family, thanks for your support and teaching me so much.

Several people have played an important role in this book coming to life:

Ron Hansen and Michael Davidson, who gave me my first job teaching Adobe Photoshop at the Art Institute of Washington.

Ben Kozuch, who believed in me enough to let me teach Photoshop to a room full of media professionals.

Scott Kelby and the other instructors and staff of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals for their inspiration and support.

Susan Rimerman and Nancy Peterson for challenging me to write the best book possible. Anne Marie Walker and Wayne Palmer for guiding me through the process and fixing my flaws.

To James Ball, Jim Tierney, and Abba Shapiro, thank you for your generous gift of photos.

To my many students through the years, thanks for the challenges and the motivation.

To the staff of RHED Pixel for helping to bring the podcasts to life.

PHOTO BY SCOTT KELBY

Richard has surrounded himself with media for his entire professional career. Hes held such diverse jobs as directing television newscasts and publishing a music magazine to managing video production departments and consulting to nonprofit agencies. Currently, Richard is a founder of RHED Pixel (www.RHEDPixel.com), a visual communications company in the Washington, D.C. area.

RHED Pixel is a successful consultancy that provides technical and design services to clients such as the Community Health Charities, National Foundation of Credit Counseling, the Smithsonian Institution, Data Robotics, and the Childrens National Medical Center. RHED Pixel creates everything from broadcast commercials to live events to interactive projects for a diverse clientele.

The Project Management Institute certifies Richard Harrington as a Project Management Professional. He holds a masters degree in project management as well. Additionally, Richard is an Adobe Certified Instructor and Apple Certified Trainer. He is a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals Instructor Dream Team.

His personal philosophy is communicate, motivate, create. Richard is a firm believer that media can have powerful results. You can follow his evolving interests in all things digital at www.RichardHarringtonBlog.com.

Learning Adobe Photoshop is essential to success in digital media industries. Photoshop is a gateway into several related technologies. From digital image acquisition and processing to typography and compositing, Photoshop is often your first introduction. If you can master this program, you can go on to success with several other technologies. With this in mind, it is important to learn Photoshop with one eye on the present and the other on the future.

Its been said that if you know Photoshop, theres always work to be had. Photoshop is used by everyone from photographers to Web developers, video professionals to graphic designers. In fact, Photoshop is used in more places than youd expectincluding the medical, architectural, and legal fields. Adobe Photoshop is a portal to Adobes other software applications, but it is also much more. Mastering the tools in Photoshop will teach you more about creative technology tools than any other program. With a solid knowledge of Photoshop, youll be well on your way to being comfortable with an entire digital toolbox.

When I decided to write this book, it was to fill a need. I have worked with Photoshop students of all levels, from the college classroom to working professionals across all industries. What Ive heard time and time again is that people wanted an objective book that gave them everything they needed to truly understand Adobe Photoshop. Readers have grown tired of books that talk down to them or waste time promoting only the latest features.

Its not that theres a shortage of good books for the professional; Ive read many of them and know several of their authors. But what has happened over the years, as Photoshop has become such an established program, is that we are left with two types of books: those for complete beginners and those for pros looking to dig deep on specific areas of the program. What was missing? A book that addresses the need of the learner who wants to understand the important features of Adobe Photoshop, as well as the core technology behind it, to build a solid foundation for future learning as well as immediate success.