Photoshop Fundamentals: An Introduction to Photoshop CS6

This 3-day course provides a thorough overview of the interface, the tools, the features, tricks, and tips for using Photoshop CS6. The course is an ideal combination of instructor-led demonstration and hands-on practice.

Adobe Photoshop has become an industry standard for so many different disciplines including desktop publishing, multimedia design, web design, digital video editing, and much more. Photoshop is often a prerequisite for many other software programs, and is the one program that everyone in every area of digital media should know.

Practical working knowledge of computers and basic Mac OS X skills. 

Lesson 1: Understanding How Digital Images Work

• Understanding RGB and CMYK color models (additive and Subtractive)
• Image size Vs. Resolution - What’s the difference?
• Pixel Aspect Ratio - Are all pixels square?
• Bits per channel - what does that mean?
• Alpha Channel - Why is this important to us?

Lesson 2: Starting to Work in Photoshop

• Opening an saving a file
• Using Bridge to open a file
• Understanding the tools and tools options
• Hidden tools
• Using some keyboard shortcuts
• Zoom in and out of your picture (Navigator panel)
• A short introduction to selections and adjustments
• A short introduction to text
• A short introduction to clipping masks
• Undo and the History panel
• Customize your workspace

Lesson 3: A Lesson in Cropping

• A short Introduction to Camera Raw
• Straightening and cropping an image
  • Regular Cropping
  • Rule of thirds
  • Non destructive cropping
  • Straightening the image
• Making automatic adjustments
• Removing a color cast
• Manually adjusting the tonal range
• Strategies for retouching

Lesson 4: Working with Selections

• About selecting and selection tools
• Using selection tools
• Transforming a selection
• Refining the edge of a selection

Lesson 5: Layer Basics

• About layers
• Using the Layers panel
• Understanding layer stacking order
• Difference between Opacity and Fill
• Locking a layer (transparency, image pixels, position and the entire layer)
• Adding a layer mask - White for opacity, black for transparency
• Applying a gradient to a layer
• Applying a layer style (drop shadow, stroke, other styles)
• Understanding Global Light
• Loading and saving a style (using the styles panel)
• Flattening and saving files

Lesson 6: Photo Corrections: Color

• Correcting digital photographs
• Understanding Color correction
  • Levels
  • Curves
  • Color Balance
• Primary color correction
• Secondary color correction
• Adjusting lightness with the Dodge tool
• Adjusting saturation with the Sponge tool
• Comparing automatic and manual results

Lesson 7: Photo Corrections: Blemishes

• Healing: Using the right tool
  • Healing tools
  • Patch Tool
  • Content-aware move tool
• Repairing areas with the Clone Stamp tool
• Sharpening your images
• Fixing lens defects

Lesson 8: Masks and Channels

• Creating a mask
• Refining a mask
• Quick masks
• Loading a mask as a selection
• Applying a filter to a mask
• Applying effects using a gradient mask
• Puppet warp

Lesson 9: Using Channels Panel for Selection

• The Channels Panel
• Viewing channels
• Choosing the right channel
• Adjusting individual channels
• Increasing contrast
• Painting with Black and white
• Removing the background from an image
• Moving layers between documents
• Inverting a mask

Lesson 10: Adjustment Layers and Clipping Masks

• Using adjustment layers
• Grouping layers
• Clipping masks
• Using type as a mask

Lesson 11: Correcting and Enhancing Digital Photographs

• Photo Merge
• Auto-align layers
• Content-aware scaling
• Content-aware fill

Lesson 12: Typographic Design

• Understanding type in Photoshop
• Creating a clipping mask from type
• Creating a design element from type
• Warping point type
• Designing a paragraph of type
• Difference between point and paragraph text
• Warping a layer
• Text on a path

Lesson 13: Saving your files

• Understanding file types
• The right file for the right job
• Conclusion