Photoshop for beginners - professional Photoshop workflow secrets

Step # 1 - rotate and straighten the image

It takes up time and patience and a tripod, create perfectly level image in the camera and because the majority of people hand-their cameras the majority of the photographs hold have tilted horizons or buildings. Therefore, the first step of my professional Photoshop workflow is to straighten the image.

Step # 2 - crop for composition and efficiency

Once the image has straightened the next step to Cropthe is image to the desired shape. This has two positive aspects: it allows everything about the most important issue, cut off, which do not add the impact of the photo, and it reduces the file size the Photoshop faster work makes.

Step 3 - Bunny remove brands and dust '

Now we get rid of all irritating dust marks (known as dust bunnies), particularly evident in blue skies, and remove all the unwanted details in the image such as litter on the ground. We do this with a combination of the healing brush and Clone Stamp Tools.

Step # 4 – save the original image

At this point, we have a clean image, and it is a very good idea, that now save as picture to save... and the clean image to give a meaningful name. This will keep the original photo intact and give your clean image with a useful file names.

Step # 5 - Basic and intermediate level tone control/adjustment

Now you have a clean image it's time, the total tonal values to determine whether the image tonal corrections needs. This is where we fix you exposure problems and also lighting contrast issues.

Step # 6 - Basic and intermediate level color control/adjustment

At this point we can see if the image of unwanted dominant color and remove the color-correction tools. Because the most used camera user of the automatic white balance, it is likely that this photo be converted a color, are removed. At this point, save the image again!

Step # 7 - Advanced tone and color control/adjustment

In step 6 # we removed a dominant colour cast, and now we must use the advanced Photoshop color tools to optimize the color balance of the image. This is for example, where we would make sure the skin color a portrait was perfect.

Step # 7 - selective adjustment method with layer masks

Now we get more creative and start the image to determine which areas within the benefit photo from more adjustments to the sounds and colors to analyze. Make local corrections, we use selection and layer masks. A very useful technique is the use of density masks for ultimate control. At this point, our correction is completed, and we can save the image ready for further use.

Step # 8 – sharpen for different purposes

Now our finished image we must we apply, sharpen, send either for the production of a print or for the image to a Web page. Sharpness of an image often caused concern and all "secret" seems built around the topic have. Follow these rules to keep things: A) for the Web, resize the image first and to sharpen. If it looks good on the screen, it should be fine (watch out for halons that too much sharpen specify). (B) for which is producing a print, which you can apply the sharpen more as your monitor, because the printer uses much higher resolution. Make the image a little "crisp" see on the screen, and it should be fine in print.

Step # 9 - save the work for various purposes

This is something that many people don't think that. You have always a master copy of the original untouched image (in the event that you always restart want), and copy you a master of the image fully corrected with a unique name. Now the fully corrected version to do resize, and sharpen for a particular purpose, as for example for a Web Gallery, and then save the image in a new file. This is very important; You have separate files for each type of use the image for example Web Gallery, inkjet printing, e-Mail, thumbnail to have, blog, etc..

There you have it! The secrets of a professional workflow, you can use to make up your image processing and save time in the process. This will make you much more efficient! Until next time.

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Copyright (c) Les Meehan 2010.

Les Meehan is the author of seven published Photoshop books and is a qualified teacher who has taught workshops for over 20 years.