Sams Teach Yourself Adobe Photoshop CS4 in 24 Hours: (Sams Teach Yourself)

Sams Teach Yourself  Adobe® Photoshop® CS4   Kate Binder   In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, you’ll learn all the fundamental Photoshop CS4 skills you need to get great results–in digital photography, graphic design, painting, or anything else! Using this book’s easy, step-by-step approach, you’ll master Photoshop CS4’s revamped interface and powerful new shortcuts. You can also learn professional techniques for repairing damaged photos, creating great composites, black-and-white images, and web graphics, and a whole lot more!   Full-color figures and clear step-by-step instructions visually show you how to use Photoshop. Notes, Tips, and Cautions provide related information, advice, and warnings. Q&A sections, quizzes, and exercises help you build and test your knowledge.   Learn how to… Master Photoshop CS4’s new tabbed interface, Application Frame, and Application Bar Personalize your workspace to work more efficiently Repair and retouch black-and-white and color images, no matter what condition they’re in Make “spot fixes” with Photoshop CS4’s improved toning tools Achieve powerful artistry with Photoshop’s filters and effects Master digital painting with Photoshop’s paintbrushes and other tools Get your colors right, in both print and web applications Transform your images using tools ranging from Flip and Warp to Liquify Master professional-level features including layers, channels, and masks Create outstanding typographic special effects Prepare great web images for everything from online photo galleries to cellphones Save time and get better results with Photoshop CS4’s latest enhancements   Kate Binder is a design and graphics expert who works from her home in New Hampshire. She has written articles on graphics, publishing, and photography for magazines including Shutterbug, Publish, eDigitalPhoto, PEI, and Desktop Publishers Journal. Kate is also the author of several books, including iMac Portable Genius, Sams Teach Yourself Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 in 24 Hours, Easy Mac OS X Leopard, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Mac OS X, and Easy Adobe Photoshop 7.   Category:  Graphics Covers:  Adobe® Photoshop® CS4 User Level:  Beginning—Intermediate  

Table of Contents:
Introduction   Downloading the Book’s Source Images Conventions Used in This Book   PART I: Getting Started   HOUR 1: Exploring Photoshop Basics Finding Your Way Around What’s on the Menus? Setting Preferences   HOUR 2: Opening and Saving Files Working with Files Saving Your Work Undoing and Redoing Using Version Cue   HOUR 3: Making Selections The Selection Tools The Select Menu Selecting Large Areas Advanced Selection Techniques Cutting and Copying Cropping   HOUR 4: Specifying Color Modes andColor Models Color Models From Models to Modes Color Bit Depth and Why It Matters   HOUR 5: Adjusting Brightness and Color Evaluating Your Color Adjustment Needs Adjusting by Eye with Variations Making Other Adjustments Preserving the Original with Adjustment Layers Understanding Color Channels Making Spot Fixes Converting Color to Black and White   HOUR 6: Choosing and Blending Colors Foreground and Background Colors Specifying Colors Blending Modes   PART II: Painting with Pixels   HOUR 7: Drawing and Combining Shapes Drawing and Editing Shapes Combining and Editing Shapes Creating Your Own Shapes   HOUR 8: Different Ways to Paint Making the Most of Brushes Using Other Painting Tools Using the Focus Tools   HOUR 9: Advanced Painting Techniques Simulating Different Media Painting from Your History Using a Pressure-Sensitive Tablet   PART III: Photoshop Power Tools   HOUR 10: Using Transformations Resizing Rotating Flipping Skewing, Distorting, and Changing Perspective Using Free Transform Warping and Liquifying   HOUR 11: Creating Layered Images Using the Layers Panel Working with Multiple Layers   HOUR 12: Using Masks Applying Masks Using Quick Mask Working with Layer Masks   HOUR 13: Using Paths Creating Paths Editing Paths Using Paths   PART IV: Fantastic Filters   HOUR 14: Getting Started with Filters Using the Filter Gallery Applying and Editing Smart Filters Combining and Fading Filters   HOUR 15: Applying Filters to Improve Your Picture Sharpen Filters Blur Filters Noise Filters   HOUR 16: Applying Filters to Turn Your Picture into Art Artistic Filters Brush Strokes Filters Sketch Filters   HOUR 17: Applying Funky Filters Distort Filters Pixelate Filters Stylize Filters   PART V: Using Text and Special Effects   HOUR 18: Adding Type to Pictures Using the Type Tools Setting Type Creating Special Effects with Type Checking Your Spelling   HOUR 19: Taking Advantage of a Few Useful Tricks Creating Special Effects Making Notes Printing Contact Sheets   PART VI: Repairing and Enhancing Your Photos   HOUR 20: Creating Composite Images Making One Picture from Two (or More) Tricks to Make Compositing Easier Putting the Pieces Together with Photomerge   HOUR 21: Repairing Black-and-White Photos Easy Fixes Cleaning Up a Picture, Step by Step Applying Tints Vignetting   HOUR 22: Repairing Color Photos Color Retouching Editing a Picture’s Content   PART VII: Publishing Your Pictures   HOUR 23: Printing and Publishing Your Images Choosing a Printer Preparing the Image Printing the Page Picking the Paper Placing Photoshop Images in Other Programs   HOUR 24: Going Online with Photoshop File Formats and File Size Web Tricks Sharing Your Photos Online Creating Images for Phones and More   APPENDIX A: Photoshop CS4 Panel Quick Reference 3D Panel Actions Panel Adjustments Panel Animation Panel Brushes Panel Channels Panel Character Panel Clone Source Panel Color Panel Histogram Panel History Panel Info Panel Layer Comps Panel Layers Panel Masks Panel Measurement Log Panel Navigator Panel Notes Panel Paragraph Panel Paths Panel Styles Panel Swatches Panel Tool Presets Panel   APPENDIX B: A Quick Walk on the Extended Side Working in 3D and Video Taking Measurements, Counting Objects, and Analyzing Data Exploring New Frontiers   Index

About the Author :
Kate Binder is a graphics expert who works from her home in New Hampshire, doing design and production for books, magazines, e-books, and websites. She is the author of several books, including iMac Portable Genius (Wiley, 2008), Sams Teach Yourself Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 in 24 Hours (Sams, 2008), Easy Mac OS X Leopard (Que, 2007), and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Mac OS X (Alpha, 2001). She is the coauthor of several more books, including Microsoft Office: Mac v.X Inside Out (Microsoft Press, 2002), SVG for Designers (McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media, 2002), and Get Creative: The Digital Photo Idea Book (McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media, 2003). To those interested in a successful career as a designer, photographer, or computer book writer, Kate recommends acquiring several retired racing greyhounds (find out more at www.adopt-a-greyhound.org); she finds her own pack of greyhounds extraordinarily inspirational. Kate can be reached via her website at www.prospecthillpub.com.