Hello there, welcome to this video! Let's see the amazing Expert workspace
inside Photoshop Elements 15 in a short time!
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In the previous beginner tutorial in this guide, we have seen the very
basic features used to edit your pictures with the Quick and the Guided
workspace. But, whenever you want to go professional and start editing
photos precisely, you have to switch to the Expert workspace.
What really differs from the basic Quick workspace, are the kinds of tools
and features you can use here. These, in fact, allow you to have a full
control on each single pixel of your photo. Let's see shortly the most
important ones.
On the far left, you have the main toolbar, that collects all the tools
available and divided in several sections, depending on what they do.
As seen for the Quick workspace, you can use the Tool Options panel at
the bottom to adjust the settings for the current tool enabled.
Under the Modify tab, you have all the tools used to regulate the basic
photo appearance. For example, use the Crop Tool to crop the picture as
you like, cutting all that does not fall within the cropping area; use the
Straighten Tool to align the picture according to the segment you draw on
the picture.
Amazing is the Content-Aware Move Tool, that is used to move a subject
inside your picture without leaving vacant slots on the background. Just
drag on your picture to select the part you need to move. Then, if you
click and drag it, you will move it freely, and the vacant background left
will be automatically covered.
The Enhance section collects all the tools used to improve any brightness,
contrast and colors inside the picture. For example, you have the Red Eye
Removal Tool, used to remove red eyes. Just click and drag to create a
selection area. If the red eye falls inside it, it will be automatically
removed.
Then, you have the Healing Brush Tools. These are used to make heavy
corrections that are fully integrated within the colors and the content
inside the picture. If you choose the Healing Brush Tool, hold ALT down
to fix a target point. Then, when you click and brush on the picture, you
will paste exactly the details that fall under the moving target, without
changing the color that is under your brush.
Whereas, to correct very small imperfections, it is better to use the Spot
Healing Brush. In fact, in this case, you just have to click on the spot
to get it removed automatically.
A similar tool is called Clone Stamp Tool. This works just like the Healing
Brush Tool, by using a fixed target. But, when you click and brush on the
picture, you will paste exactly what you have under the target, so not
just the details, but also its colors.
Remember to use CTRL+Z to undo in case you make any mistake. To zoom in
and out instead, hold ALT down and use your mouse wheel to use your tools
more precisely. To pan, just hold the Space bar, and click and drag on the
picture.
The Smart Brush Tools are used to apply adjustments or effects by brushing
directly on the picture. The brush spreads on all the parts of the picture
that share the same color, and applies the effect chosen from the Tool
Options panel.
Moreover, you can use the Sponge, the Dodge and the Burn Tools to adjust
the picture colors, by adding or removing saturation, and by adding or
removing brightness respectively. Whereas, to adjust clarity, you can use
the Blur and the Sharpen Tools to adjust the level of details. Use Smudge
to pick and move the pixels of the picture as you like.
Moreover, you can also use all the adjustments contained inside the Enhance
tab to improve your photo appearance. Some of these are applied
automatically, others work with a dialog box, through which you can fix
the correct settings you want to apply on the picture. These kind of
corrections are applied permanently. In case you make a mistake, you can
undo the latest adjustment applied by using CTRL+Z.
Very important are also the tools under the Select section, used to select
a limited part of your picture, with regular or custom shapes, in order to
apply all your modifications within in only. For example, if you have any
area selected, and you apply any correction from the Enhance tab, or by
using the tools, just the selected area will be affected. Let's see how
to use these Selection Tools quickly.
The Rectangular and the Elliptical Marquee Tools create a rectangular or an
elliptical selection area by clicking and dragging on the picture. The
Quick Selection tool selects areas by following the same color. The
Selection Brush tool selects the parts of the picture where you brushed on.
Use the Magic Wand Tool to quickly select parts of the picture that share
the same color in one shot.
To make customized selections freehand, you have to use the Lasso Tools.
Use the Lasso Tool to create your freehand selection area by clicking and
dragging on the picture. Use the Magnetic Lasso Tool to make a freehand
selection that follows the boundaries created by a deep color contrast.
Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to create a polygonal selection area by fixing
one point after another.
When using the Selection Tools, you will always generate new selections
by default, removing the old ones created. To make additional selections,
you can hold Shift down while dropping a new selection area, or remove
existing selected areas by holding ALT down.
Let's now have a look at the Adjustment Layers, a very professional way
to edit and adjust your pictures.
Differently from the Quick workspace, you can apply adjustments on the
picture by using layers that overlap the picture itself. If you enable the
Layers panel, you can see your picture as the default layer available.
If you click on the third button above, you can add other layers on the
picture, in order to adjust its appearance. These are called Adjustment
Layers.
Differently from the corrections inside the Enhance tab, the Adjustment
Layers can be edited and managed anytime, and applied in any order you
like, from up to down in the Layers list. Each Adjustment Layer is
composed by its settings on the left, and its Layer Mask on the right, used
to define where such correction must be applied.
For example, if the adjustment is applied on the whole picture, the Layer
Mask will be completely white. If you apply any Adjustment Layer with a
selected area on the picture, this will be applied just within in, as the
Layer Mask shows.
On the right, you can enable or disable each layer by clicking on the eye
icon on the left, or delete it by clicking on the bin button above. Whereas,
to edit the adjustment again, just double-click on the left icon.
On the left, you have other tools collected under the Draw section, used to
draw on the picture by brushing on it.
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