The picture-perfect photos you see on the cover of fashion magazines have gone through different stages of thorough editing to make them look perfect. It takes a great photo editor to come up with a perfect piece of the image that can be presented to the right audience. According Aramanyc, it is all about bringing your imagination to life with the skills acquired in photo editing. Photoshop promises perfection when done by a professional. For beginners, they can get started with Photoshop by learning the basics.
Getting started
Just like with every new tool, you have to learn the ropes before you can start the technical part of editing images. There is the menu bar which provides access to multiple features. They include image, file, edit, and command, among others. You can also check out the panels, which comprise of properties, color, and layers. There is the toolbar, which contains all the tools you need to edit images.
How to open and create new images
It is the most basic starting point in your quest to start editing. You either create a new image or use the one that is already there. You must have an image in place in order to start the editing process. Assuming that you want to edit an image that is already there, you only need to go to the menu bar and select file and then open, to open the image. If you want to create a new image, you can go to the menu bar, choose a file and then select new.
Toolbar and keyboard shortcuts
It is good to know your way around the toolbar. It is where you get all the editing tools to make your images stand out at the end of the process. You will need to know which tool does what and by learning the keyboard shortcuts, you will be able to edit your photos faster. Some of the keyboard shortcuts for the tools include:
•Crop tool (C)
•Paintbrush (B)
•Eyedropper (I)
•Eraser (E)
•Paint Can and gradient tool (G)
•Pen (P)
The good thing about keyboard shortcuts is that you can set them based on how well you will remember them when editing images.
Color setting
You will need to know how to set color channels. Different color settings will bring you different results. You may opt for RGB which will give you red, green and blue. You can opt to switch between different color channels and observe the difference in terms of the contrast and the overall appearance of the photo. If you are editing your photo to be printed in a fashion magazine, or any other print, you need to set the color to ProPhoto RGB for quality purposes.
Editing in layers
You will need to learn how to edit in layers if you want to produce a neat edit as the final product. It allows you to set blending modes, masks, and bring together the layers to see how it comes around. It will help you see your image in different layers and by editing in layers, you will be able to come out with the image you envisioned in your mind.
Photoshop demands a lot from the user. It is always good to practice, and learn the basics of the editing software while you test a few tools here and there. This will help you to sharpen your editing skills with time.
