Photoshop CS3: Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks

Customizing Photoshop for Your Projects

#1 Select the Color Settings for Your Projects

#2 Set the Preferences for the Way You Work

#3 Customize Your Personal Workspace

#4 Personalize Your View of the Bridge

#5 Add Your Own Keyboard Shortcut for a Favorite Filter

#6 Create a Custom Action to Increase Your Efficiency

#7 Design a Customized Brush with Your Settings

#8 Make a Special Gradient to Suit Your Design

#9 Calibrate and Profile Your Monitor for Better Editing

#10 Turn on the Full Power of Photoshop with a Pen Tablet

Working with Layers, Selections, and Masks

#11 Duplicate and Change the Background Layer to Fix Problems Such As Overexposure

#12 Using an Adjustment Layer to Adjust a Photo Nondestructively

#13 Blend Two Photos Together with a Layer Mask

#14 Using Custom Shape Layers to Add Designs to Photos

#15 Accentuate a Sky Easily with a Gradient Fill Layer

#16 Using the Quick Selection Tool and Refine Edge Palette for Selections

#17 Using a Quick Mask to Make a Detailed Selection

#18 Extract the Main Subject from the Background

#19 Open or Add Layers As Smart Objects for Nondestructive Changes

#20 Apply Filters As Smart Filters for Dynamic Adjustmentsvi

Straightening, Cropping, and Resizing

#21 Crop Your Images and Use a Rule-of-Thirds Grid to Improve Composition

#22 Create a Level Horizon

#23 Try a Reverse Crop to Expand the Canvas

#24 Crop and Straighten in Camera Raw

#25 Straighten Crooked Scans Quickly

#26 Crop Multiple Images from One Original to Create a Triptych

#27 Change Your Perspective with the Crop Tool

#28 Straighten Buildings with the Lens Correction Filter

#29 Create a Panorama from Multiple Photos

#30 Maximize Your Image Size with Minimal Visible Loss

Retouching Portraits

#31 Remove Blemishes and Improve the Skin

#32 Remove Red Eye to Quickly Improve Any Photo

#33 Change Eye Color Digitally

#34 Reduce Wrinkles with a Soft Touch

#35 Whiten Teeth to Improve a Smile

#36 Brighten the Eyes by Lightening the Whites

#37 Add Depth to Eyes to Emphasize Them

#38 Add a Catch Light to Make the Eyes Come Alive

#39 Sharpen Just the Eyes to Add Focus

#40 Add a Soft-Focus Effect to Make a Portrait Glow

Changing and Enhancing Colors and Tone

#41 Improve an Underexposed Photo in Two Steps

#42 Improve an Overexposed Photo in Three Steps

#43 Remove a Colorcast to Improve the Overall Color

#44 Colorize an Old Black-and-White Photograph

#45 Make a Quick Change to Grayscale

#46 Give a New Photo an Old Colorized Look

#47 Using Camera Raw to Recover Highlights

#48 Improve a Sky with HSL Values in Camera Raw

#49 Go from Color to Grayscale with the New Black & White Adjustment

#50 Create a Split Tone for a Special Effect in Camera Raw

Making Magic with Digital Special Effects

#51 Apply a Smart Digital Photo Filter for Dynamic Adjustments

#52 Add a Quick Dark Vignette Effect to Direct the Focus on the Subject

#53 Add Action with a Simulated Motion Blur

#54 Using the New Blend Mode to Stylize an Image

#55 Align and Blend Separate Photos for the Best Group Shot

#56 Merge Multiple Raw Photos to 32-Bit HDR

#57 Apply a Split-Neutral Density Filter Using Smart Objects

#58 Adjust Depth of Field with a Lens Blur Filter

#59 Create a Silhouette for a Custom Design

#60 Become a Digital Architect with the Vanishing Point Filter

Designing with Text Effects

#61 Add a Double-Neon Glow to Text for a Unique Design

#62 Create a Custom Watermark to Protect Your Images

#63 Fill Any Shape with Text to Create Unique Effects

#64 Warp Type to Emphasize the Words

#65 Add Perspective to Type and Keep It Sharp

#66 Make Your Text Follow Any Path

#67 Create Eye-Catching Photo-Filled Titles

#68 Blend Text into a Photograph Creatively

#69 Create an Amazing Colored Shadow

#70 Weave Text and Graphics for Intriguing Designs

Creating Digital Artwork from Photographs

#71 Give Any Photo a Sketched Look

#72 Add Your Own Signature to Any Artwork

#73 Create a Digital Pen-and-Ink Drawing

#74 Give a Photograph a Woodcut Look

#75 Turn a Photo into a Colored-Pencil Illustration

#76 Posterize a Photo for a Warhol-Style Image

#77 Create a Pen-and-Colored-Wash Drawing from a Photograph

#78 Compose a Photo Collage

#79 Turn a Photo into a Hand-Painted Oil Painting

#80 Paint a Digital Watercolor

Giving Your Images a Professional Presentation

#81 Add Traditional Photo Corners

#82 Make a Frame from a Photograph

#83 Make a Contact Sheet of Your Photos

#84 Create a PDF Slideshow Presentation

#85 Create a Web Photo Gallery with Your Copyright

#86 Give a Photo an Artistic Edge

#87 Create a Custom Slide Template

#88 Create Your Own Custom Edge

#89 Make One Photo Look Like Many Combined Snapshots

#90 Make a Photo Look Like a Gallery Print

Plugging into Photoshop CS3

#91 Embellish a Photo Effortlessly with Graphic Authority Frames and Photo Ornaments

#92 Make a Digital Engraving with Andromeda’s Screens Filter

#93 Enlarge Images with Maximum Quality with Alien Skin BlowUp

#94 Change Your Photo into Art with Alien Skin Snap Art

#95 Colorize a Black-and-White Photo with AKVIS Coloriage

#96 Easily Select the Subject and Remove the Background with Vertus Fluid Mask

#97 Control Digital Noise with Nik Dfine 2

#98 Sharpen Photos with Finesse Using Nik Sharpener Pro 2

#99 Apply Traditional Photo Filters Such As the Sunshine Filter Using Nik Color Efex

#100 Travel Beyond the Bridge with Extensis Portfolio 8