Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual (Kindle Edition)

by Barbara Brundage (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Photoshop Elements 7 includes new tools for everything from fixing up your photos to storing and sharing your pictures online. There's so much to this new version, in fact, that knowing how to make the most of it isn't readily apparent. Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual guides you through all of the program's features by explaining the way the tools and commands work, and how you can use them to your advantage.

Sneak Preview: Author Barbara Brundage’s Top 10 Elements Tips

1. It's still important to back up your photos. Elements 7 gives you a totally painless way with its related web site. Sign up for a free account and you can set your albums to automatically back themselves up to your space online. Once you set up album syncing, you don't have to think about it again. It happens automatically. If you have a computer disaster at home, just reinstall Elements on the new computer, turn on the backup/sync option, and sign in to the site, and your photos reappear on your new computer. This service has some limitations (all detailed in the book), but it's a terrific way to keep an extra copy of important photos. And you still have the regular Organizer options for backing up to CD, DVD, or a different hard drive.

2. Find a size that fits. If you've been using Elements for scrapbooking, take a look at the new file size presets available in Elements 7. There's a whole separate category for scrapbook sizes in the New File dialog box. Now you can create a 12"-, 8"-, or 6"-square sized file without having to set up a custom size.

3. On vacation? Take a private tour. If your “staycation” this year takes you to a nearby tourist spot along with everyone else in your state, you can get rid of those strangers crowding into your photos—as long as you plan ahead a little. Start by getting a series of pictures that give you enough clear spots, even if there are people you don't know meandering somewhere through every photo. Then you can combine the pictures with the Elements 7 Scene Cleaner to create an image of Aunt Esmeralda and Cousin Wilberforce standing in front of the falls all by themselves, with nobody else around.

4. Make slideshows like a pro. With Elements 7 you can share your albums with dynamite, professional-looking galleries. Create a gallery where your photos appear as a pile of old-fashioned slides. Your friends can then sort through, and click the ones they like, to see a larger view. Elements has other gallery options that let you create a virtual book where your visitors "turn" the page with the mouse. And you can host these at the related web site, burn them to a CD or DVD, or even post them on your own web site.

5. Create beautiful skin. If you like glamour-type photography, check out the new Surface blur filter to create dreamy looking skin quality. It blurs without losing edge detail: perfect for smoothing skin in portraits.

6. Make dramatic skies. If you're a beginner, try the new Quick Fix/Touch Up tool for making the sky bluer--maybe too blue (and kind of green) if truth be told. Fortunately, you can soften up the effect once you're done. Go back to Full Edit and find the Layers palette (you don't need to understand layers for this maneuver). Click once on the layer that Elements just added to your photo (it's called Blue Skies), and then go up to the top of the palette and move the opacity slider to the left. Watch your photo as you move the slider. When it looks real, you're done. (Click the bottom layer, the one called Background, before you leave the Layers palette. That way you can make more edits to your photos.) Another option: You may prefer the results you get using the Smart Brush in Full Edit, if your sky has any clouds in it. In the tool presets in the Options bar, go to Nature->Cloud Contrast and drag across the sky. Presto, your clouds really stand out!

7. Never, ever work on your original photo. If you use the Organizer, good news: Elements already has your back. It creates version sets, which save different states of your image as you edit. You can create as many different versions of a photo as you like and go back to any one of them at any time. And if you’re working with Raw files, even better news: You can't alter your original (only the conversion settings). If you don't use the Organizer, make a copy of the picture (File- >Duplicate) and work on that. This way you can always start over again if you get a better idea later on.

8. Sharing photos with the Organizer. There are all kinds of fun, creative ways to share photos in Elements 7, and the Organizer makes it super easy to explore them all. Try a slideshow with music and commentary, or upload your photos to EasyShare or one of the other online services to create mugs, bags, and other cool gift items with your photos on them.

9. Don't scorn the auto buttons. If you've never tried these one-click fixes--Auto Levels or Auto Color, for example--give ‘em a try. Each version of Elements gets a little smarter and you may find that you like the results you get from one of these easy-to-use fixes.

10. Panoramas for everyone. You don't need to feel wistful anymore about the fact that your point and shoot camera's lens doesn't have a true wide-angle setting. Take a series of photos with, ideally, about a 30 percent overlap and Elements' Photomerge will automatically stitch them together into a panorama wider than you could have captured with the widest lens. Photomerge is really amazing--it’s totally automated and it does terrific blending to eliminate visible seams between images.

Look Inside Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual

Click thumbnails to open full-size images in a new window.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 7957 KB
• Print Length: 591 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Pogue Press; 1 edition (October 3, 2008)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0026OR3NA
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #70,288 in Kindle Store (See Bestsellers in Kindle Store)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #54 in	Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Arts & Entertainment > Photography > Reference
  #96 in	Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Computers & Internet > Web Graphics

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I'd Bought This Long Ago, January 27, 2009

By	Daniel G. Lebryk - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual (Paperback)

This is an essential and easy to use book for Photoshop Elements. If you can click, double click, and drag (prerequisites from the author); you can use this book and Photoshop Elements to imrpove your pictures.

My digital photography goes back to when 3MegaPixel cameras were $1000 and computer speeds were measured in MHz. I have over 30,000 digital pictures, and have used every version of Photoshop Elements. This is one of the best books I have ever seen to better use a piece of computer software. It truly is the manual they should have shipped with this software.

The author does start slowly and carefully. She makes sure that everyone knows the basics. She also makes it clear, you won't get to editing with layers in the first week. Read and digest only those topics important to you at that moment, and practice. It's very easy to skip around and work on the particular topic your photograph needs. Red eye correction, something we all do frequently. It's very clear, there's the very simple approach with some tweaks to size things correctly, how to do it automatically, and then a box with Power User suggestions (using the eyedropper tool) when things don't work exactly right.

The author's approach is to present the simple, should work most of the time procedure, then some simple options for improvement, and what to do if that procedure doesn't work. It's chock full of tips and hints all well organized.

This book should speak volumes to the new user, the upgrader from previous versions, and fairly skilled users. Even those basic topics I've taken for granted, (using grids to straighten a photograph), include things I wouldn't have known, (you can change the grid color - black can be very annoying when working with sports pictures). As another reviewer has mentioned, the upgrade from 6 to 7 was pretty minor for the things you need to do every day, edit and improve your pictures, so this book applies reasonably well.

The book is in color, but the printing is not exactly the most fabulous I've ever seen. The color photographs are kind of gray and not terribly high resolution, must have kept printing costs down. The good news, the pictures are available on line to try, so you can see the effects for yourself. The binding also feels like it will fall apart with heavy use, another cost cutting measure.

I did not realize when ording this book that David Pogue is behind this series. That's a fabulous thing. He is an amazing tech writer, and has been in the computer business for a very long time (I remember his Macintosh series when an SE/30 was cutting edge). He knows how to balance fun and technology without excluding people with tech language. This book follows that philosophy to the letter.

Strongly recommend this book for everyone that wants to know how to better use Elements, from the beginning amateur to the advanced photographer. If you are a fairly advanced user and have sought out this book, I think you will be impressed with the depth of coverage at a very reasonable price.

62 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Book, December 1, 2008

By	G. Strakos - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual (Paperback)

This is one of the best books on Photoshop Elements 7 available. I guarantee that you will need this book if you are new to Photoshop Elements 7. The Photoshop Elements 7 software package only comes with a small introduction booklet. And I have never had success learning to do something via the "Help" files. I am also sure that an experienced user can use this book as a reference. I have been using Photoshop Elements 7 for over a week now. So far, I have found an answer in this book to every problem I have encountered.

The author's writing style is excellent. It is not too light and it is not too dense.

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Want To Learn Photoshop Elements 7, BUY THIS BOOK, December 5, 2008

By	Daniel McKinnon (Tewksbury, MA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual (Paperback)

Another outstanding book in the "Missing Manual" line. Barbara Brundage makes Photoshop Elements 7 not only easy to use, but also a whole lot of fun!!

and now...

IN FULL COLOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Adobe has many applications that are downright intimidating to many users out there, and it's very refreshing that "Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual" was created. From covering the basics of how to get around the Elements application, the author starts of with the basics of getting your images onto your computer, and the most simple of effects like rotation and cropping. From there, she discusses the all-important topic of layers and basic image retouching so you can take your digital images and make them go from good to GREAT!!! Continuing on with a look at filters and how to get your images printed so they look beautiful and/or posting them to the web or emailing them, this guide is perfect for all new Photoshop Elements users who want to get their feet web on the way to becoming an Elements super user.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. While it's a little bit more expensive than other books in the "Missing Manual" line, the price should NOT be a factor in your decision making. If you are looking for a book that will assist in your knowledge of learning how to use Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 you have come to the right place. If you want to learn more about what is included in the newest release of this outstanding application, look no further. If just want to read an entertaining book and expand your knowledge of how to work with digital imagery so you can make your images look better than ever, again you will NOT be disappointed.

This is the way all books should be written: clearly, simply, and enjoyable.

***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION