Wiley Digital Photography All In One Desk Reference For Dummies 2nd Edition Oct 2004 ISBN 0764573284 pdf
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine! www.sharexxx.net - free books & magazines
Digital Photography
A L L - I N - O N E D E S K R E F E R E N C E
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
2 ND EDITION
by David D. Busch
Digital Photography
A L L - I N - O N E D E S K R E F E R E N C E
FOR
DUMmIES
‰2 ND EDITION
® Digital Photography All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies , 2nd Edition Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978)
646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley
Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, e-mail:
brandreview@wiley.com .
Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the
Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, and related trade
dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United
States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor
mentioned in this book.
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS
OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND
SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS.
THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS
SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING,
OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPE-
TENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE
FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS
WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE
AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR
RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN
THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ.
For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport .
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may
not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2004112315ISBN: 0-7645-7328-4 Manufactured in the United States of America
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
2B/RU/RQ/QU/IN
About the Author
David D. Busch has demystified imaging and computer technology since 1980
through more than 75 books and several thousand articles on digital imaging, photography, and computer technology for leading photography and computer media, including Popular Photography and Imaging, Petersen’s PhotoGraphic,
The Professional Photographer, The Rangefinder, Computer Shopper, and CNet
Networks. A two-time winner of Computer Press Awards, Busch has also oper- ated his own commercial photo studio and lab, worked as a newspaper photog- rapher, and taught photo posing at a New York modeling agency. Contributing author Dan Simon has spent the past 25 years as a journalist and photographer. He began his career as a Navy journalist with assignments aboard several ships, and in Norfolk, Va., Dededo, Guam, and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. After leaving the service in 1990, Dan worked as a river guide and photographer on Pennsylvania’s Lehigh River. During the past ten years, he has worked as a writer/photographer for several Pennsylvania and New Jersey newspapers including the Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton Times Leader and Allentown Morning Call. Simon’s writing and photography have appeared in numerous books, magazines, Web sites, and newspapers including The New York Times and ESPN.
Contributor Laurie Anne Ulrich’s books include Photoshop Elements 2
Restoration and Retouching, Photoshop Elements 2 Bible, and Photoshop 7:
The Complete Reference.Contributor Michael Meadhra has authored, co-authored, and contributed to dozens of books, including How to Do Everything with Dreamweaver MX
2004, Lotus SmartSuite Millennium Edition for Windows For Dummies , Lego
Mindstorms For Dummies, StarOffice 5.2 For Linux For Dummies, KDE ForDummies, and Windows 2000 Professional Bible. While a member of the Cobb
Group, Michael served as editor-in-chief of several newsletters covering topics such as PageMaker, QuarkXPress, Freehand, Illustrator, CorelDraw, Illustrator, and Photoshop. Technical Editor Michael D. Sullivan added a great deal to this book in addi- tion to checking all the text for technical accuracy. A veteran photographer (in the military sense of the word!), he began his photo career in high school where he first learned the craft and amazed his classmates by having Monday morning coverage of Saturday’s big game pictured on the school bulletin board. Sullivan pursed his interest in photography into the U.S. Navy, graduat- ing in the top ten of his photo school class. Following Navy photo assignments in Bermuda and Arizona, he earned a BA degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College.
He became publicity coordinator for Eastman Kodak Company’s largest division, where he directed the press introduction of the company’s major consumer products and guided their continuing promotion. Following a 25-year stint with Kodak, Sullivan pursued a second career with a PR agency as a writer-photographer covering technical imaging subjects and producing articles that appeared in leading trade publications. In recent years, Sullivan has used his imaging expertise as a technical editor, specializing in digital imaging and photographic subjects for top selling books.
Dedication I dedicate this book, as always, to Cathy.
Author’s Acknowledgments
Thanks to my compatriots who helped me put together the first edition of this book. They include contributing author Dan Simon for his help on some of the difficult “hard-core” photography chapters on travel, sports, people photography, and shooting for publication, as well as his overview of equip- ment and those great photographs, including many of the best shots in the color section. More thanks to contributor Laurie Ulrich for her work on the chapters on image editing, and to contributor Mike Meadhra for his overview of image acquisition options and concise comparison of image editing soft- ware. Also, kudos to the multitudes at Wiley for keeping this project moving ahead with due speed and precision, and technical editor Michael D. Sullivan, whose knowledge of digital photography is unsurpassed.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form .
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development
Project Editor: Nicole Sholly Sr. Acquisitions Editor: Steven H. Hayes Sr. Copy Editor: Teresa Artman Technical Editor: Michael D. Sullivan Editorial Manager: Kevin Kirschner Media Development Manager:
Laura Carpenter VanWinkle Media Development Supervisor:
Richard Graves Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Production Project Coordinator: Courtney MacIntyre,
Nancee Reeves Layout and Graphics: Karl Brandt,
Andrea Dahl, Brian Drumm, Lauren Goddard, Joyce Haughey, Michael Kruzil, Jacque Roth, Heather Ryan, Julie Trippetti
Special Help: Jacque Roth Proofreaders: John Greenough, Carl William Pierce, Sossity R. Smith
Indexer: Steve Rath Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director
Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director
Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
Contents at a Glance
Introduction .................................................................1
Book I: Digital Photography Overview ............................7
Chapter 1: The Essentials of Good Digital Photography ..............................................9 Chapter 2: Basics of Equipment ....................................................................................19 Chapter 3: Acquiring Your Digital Pictures ..................................................................33 Chapter 4: Electronically Editing or Restoring a Photo ..............................................41 Chapter 5: Storing and Organizing Your Digital Photos .............................................65 Chapter 6: Printing and Sharing Your Pictures ............................................................81 Book II: Building Your Digital Photography Studio........85 Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Camera ........................................................................87 Chapter 2: Setting Up a Computer for Digital Photography ....................................125 Chapter 3: Getting Your Picture from the Camera to the Digital Darkroom ..........141 Chapter 4: Adding a Printer and Scanner ...................................................................163 Chapter 5: Picking Up Some Accessories ...................................................................179 Book III: Taking Great Pictures..................................197 Chapter 1: Tools and Techniques of Composition ....................................................199 Chapter 2: Close-Up Photography ...............................................................................225 Chapter 3: Photographing People ...............................................................................249 Chapter 4: Shooting for Publication ............................................................................297 Chapter 5: Sports and Action Photography ...............................................................331 Chapter 6: Travel Photography ...................................................................................365 Book IV: Basics of Image Editing ...............................401 Chapter 1: What You Can and Can’t Do with Image Editing Tools ..........................403 Chapter 2: Common Editing Options ..........................................................................441 Chapter 3: Choosing the Right Image Editor for You ................................................479 Book V: Editing with Adobe Photoshop
and Photoshop Elements............................................509
CSChapter 1: Latest Features of Photoshop Elements 3.0 and Photoshop ............511 Chapter 2: Making Selections .......................................................................................517 Chapter 3: Brushing Away Problems with Digital Photos ........................................535 Chapter 4: Restoring Images ........................................................................................547
Chapter 5: Correcting Faded, Funny, and Funky Colors ...........................................571 Chapter 6: Restoring and Enhancing Photos with Filters and Special Effects .......585 Book VI: Restoring Old Photos ...................................607 Chapter 1: Scanning Print Images ...............................................................................609 Chapter 2: Restoring Images Captured from Slides, Negatives, and Other Formats ......................................................................................................623
Chapter 3: Some Common Fixes for Vintage Photos ................................................637 Book VII: Printing and Sharing Your Digital Images ....655 Chapter 1: Printing Your Final Result ..........................................................................657 Chapter 2: Sharing Pictures on the Web .....................................................................667 Glossary ..................................................................681
Index .......................................................................703
Table of Contents
Introduction..................................................................1
About This Book ..............................................................................................2 What’s in This Book ........................................................................................2
Book I: Digital Photography Overview ...............................................3 Book II: Building Your Digital Photography Studio ...........................3 Book III: Taking Great Pictures .............................................................4 Book IV: Basics of Image Editing .........................................................4 Book V: Editing with Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements ..................................................................4 Book VI: Restoring Old Photos ............................................................4 Book VII: Printing and Sharing Your Digital Images ..........................5 Color insert ............................................................................................5
Conventions Used in This Book ....................................................................5 Icons Used in This Book .................................................................................6 Where To Go From Here .................................................................................6
Book I: Digital Photography Overview.............................7
Chapter 1: The Essentials of Good Digital Photography . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Knowing What Equipment You Need ..........................................................10 Minimum and Maximum Specs ...................................................................12 Taking Great Digital Shots ............................................................................14 Understand how your camera works ...............................................14 Know some photography fundamentals ..........................................14 Find out how to use an image editor ................................................15 Master a scanner .................................................................................15 Making Any Photo Digital .............................................................................16 Printing Your Final Pictures .........................................................................17 Chapter 2: Basics of Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Deciding What You Need ..............................................................................20 How much resolution do you need? .................................................20 Do you plan to manipulate your photos? .........................................22 Are you a photo hobbyist? .................................................................23 How often do you plan to upgrade? ..................................................24 Defining Categories .......................................................................................24 Web cams .............................................................................................25 Point-and-shoot models ......................................................................25 Intermediate models ...........................................................................26 Advanced consumer models .............................................................26
Digital Photography All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies, 2nd Edition xiv
Prosumer models ................................................................................27 Professional models ............................................................................28
Checking for Key Camera Features .............................................................30
Chapter 3: Acquiring Your Digital Pictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 From Camera to PC .......................................................................................33 Grabbing Images of Hard Copies .................................................................35 Kinds of scanners ................................................................................36 What to look for in a scanner .............................................................37 Letting the Other Guy Do It ..........................................................................39 Chapter 4: Electronically Editing or Restoring a Photo . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Choosing an Image Editing Program ...........................................................42 Determining your needs .....................................................................42 Checking out different applications ..................................................44 Performing Photographic Triage .................................................................47 Making Quick Fixes .......................................................................................48 Fixing red-eye .......................................................................................48 Removing dust spots ..........................................................................50 Correcting color ...................................................................................53 Restoring, Replacing, and Removing Photographic Content ..................55 Replacing missing or unwanted content ..........................................56 Rearranging parts of the picture .......................................................61 Getting rid of unwanted content .......................................................63 Chapter 5: Storing and Organizing Your Digital Photos . . . . . . . . . . . .65 Organizing Your Photos ................................................................................65 Using your computer’s file-management tools ................................66 Using photo album software ..............................................................70 Using online galleries ..........................................................................74 Archiving and Backing Up Photos ...............................................................76 Backing up your best shots ................................................................77 Using CD-R and CD-RW .......................................................................77 Using DVD storage ...............................................................................78 Offsite storage for maximum safety ..................................................79 Chapter 6: Printing and Sharing Your Pictures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 Creating Prints on Demand ..........................................................................81 Getting the Most from Your Printer and Supplies .....................................83 Sharing Your Photos .....................................................................................83 Book II: Building Your Digital Photography Studio ........85 Chapter 1: Choosing the Right Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Choosing a Camera Category ......................................................................88 Parts of a Digital Camera ..............................................................................90
Table of Contents xv
Evaluating Your Lens Requirements ...........................................................93 Understanding How Lenses Work ...............................................................94
Magnifications and focal lengths .......................................................95 Lens apertures .....................................................................................99 Focus range ........................................................................................101 Exposure controls .............................................................................102
Choosing Your Resolution ..........................................................................105 Choosing Your View ....................................................................................109
LCD viewfinders .................................................................................109 Optical viewfinders ...........................................................................111 Electronic viewfinders ......................................................................113 SLR viewfinders .................................................................................115
Considering Your Storage Options ...........................................................116 No Flash in the Pan: Determining Your Lighting Needs .........................118 The Digital SLR Revolution ........................................................................119
Ten reasons why digital SLRs are cool ...........................................119 Some digital SLR considerations .....................................................119
A Dozen Exotic Digital Camera Features ..................................................122 Checking Out Ease of Use ..........................................................................123
Chapter 2: Setting Up a Computer for Digital Photography . . . . . . .125 Hardware Wars Revisited ...........................................................................126 What Equipment Do You Need? ................................................................130 Determining How Much Memory You Need ............................................131 Choosing Local Storage ..............................................................................132 SCSI and EIDE hard disks ..................................................................132 External hard disks ...........................................................................133 Archiving and Backing Up ..........................................................................134 Zip disks ..............................................................................................134 CD-Rs and CD-RWs ............................................................................134 DVDs ....................................................................................................134 Kodak Photo CD .................................................................................135 Avoiding Microprocessor No-brainers .....................................................136 Determining What’s Most Important ........................................................137 Choosing Pointing Devices ........................................................................139 Chapter 3: Getting Your Picture from the Camera to the Digital Darkroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141 Making the Connection between Camera and Computer ......................142 Getting wired ......................................................................................143 Memory cards and disks ..................................................................149 Transferring Images from Camera to Computer .....................................156 Transferring pictures using camera utility software ....................156 Copying files to your hard drive ......................................................158 Importing images into image editing software ..............................160
Digital Photography All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies, 2nd Edition xvi
Chapter 4: Adding a Printer and Scanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163 Why You Want Prints ..................................................................................164 Choosing a Printer for Digital Photography ............................................165 Choosing a Scanner ....................................................................................168 Types of scanners .............................................................................169 Scanner prices and features .............................................................170 What scanner features do you need? ..............................................172 Resolution mythconceptions ...........................................................176 Color depth confusion ......................................................................177 Chapter 5: Picking Up Some Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179 Getting Support from Tripods ...................................................................180 Types of tripods ................................................................................182 Scrutinizing tripod features .............................................................183 Checking out tripod alternatives .....................................................186 Making Good Use of an Electronic Flash ..................................................186 Types of electronic flash units .........................................................188 What to look for in a photographic slave flash .............................189 Lighting/flash accessories ................................................................191 Choosing a Camera Bag ..............................................................................192 Acquiring Other Useful Devices ................................................................192 A filter holder .....................................................................................192 A second camera ...............................................................................193 Cleaning kits .......................................................................................193 Waterproof casings and housings ...................................................194 Filters ..................................................................................................194 Battery packs .....................................................................................196 Book III: Taking Great Pictures ..................................197 Chapter 1: Tools and Techniques of Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199 Photo Composition: The Big Picture ........................................................199 Visualizing a Concept for Your Picture .....................................................201 What do you want your image to say? ............................................201 Where will the image be used? ........................................................202 Whom are you creating the image for? ...........................................202 Selecting a Subject and a Center of Interest ............................................203 Narrowing down your subject matter .............................................203 Choosing one main subject ..............................................................203 Using secondary subjects ................................................................205 Choosing an Orientation ............................................................................206 Arranging Your Subjects .............................................................................209 Choosing subject distance ...............................................................209 Optimizing backgrounds ..................................................................210
Table of Contents xvii
The Rule of Thirds ......................................................................................212 Placing important objects at imaginary junction points ..............212 When to break the Rule of Thirds ...................................................213
Some Compositional Guidelines ...............................................................215 Using Straight Lines and Curves ...............................................................216 Balancing an Image .....................................................................................219 Framing an Image ........................................................................................219 What’s That Tree Doing Growing Out of My Head? ................................221
Chapter 2: Close-Up Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225 Defining Macro Photography .....................................................................226 Why Digital Macro Photography Is Cool ..................................................228 Picking a Place to Shoot .............................................................................229 Setting Up Your Macro Studio ...................................................................230 Background check .............................................................................231 Visible means of support ..................................................................233 Lighting equipment ...........................................................................235 Other equipment ...............................................................................238 Shooting Tips for Macro Photography .....................................................240 Setting up your subject and background .......................................240 Setting up your camera ....................................................................240 Lights, please .....................................................................................241 Ready . . . aim . . . ...............................................................................242 Fire! ......................................................................................................244 Digital SLRs and Close-Up Photography ..................................................246 Chapter 3: Photographing People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249 Capturing Satisfying Portraits ...................................................................250 Shooting in the Studio or on Location ......................................................252 Setting Up an Informal Portrait Studio .....................................................254 Choosing backgrounds .....................................................................254 Selecting supports for lights, camera, and subjects .....................256 Basic lighting equipment ..................................................................257 Professional studio lighting .............................................................261 Lighting gadgets ................................................................................262 Lighting Basics ............................................................................................268 Using multiple light sources ............................................................269 Arranging a multiple-light setup ......................................................269 Basic Lighting Techniques .........................................................................277 Advanced Lighting Techniques .................................................................278 Short lighting .....................................................................................278 Broad lighting .....................................................................................280 Butterfly lighting ................................................................................282 Backlighting ........................................................................................282 Taking Your First Portraits .........................................................................285
Digital Photography All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies, 2nd Edition xviii
Shooting the Portrait ..................................................................................288 Posing your subjects .........................................................................289 Arranging your lighting .....................................................................293 Taking the picture .............................................................................293
Advantages of Digital Cameras ..................................................................294
Chapter 4: Shooting for Publication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297 Finding Outlets for Print Publication ........................................................298 Local newspapers ..............................................................................300 Understanding what newspapers need ..........................................300 Working as a Professional Newspaper Photographer ............................302 Being a stringer versus freelancing .................................................303 Getting your foot in the door ...........................................................306 Magazines and Magazine-Like Markets ....................................................306 Making contact ..................................................................................310 Submitting photos .............................................................................312 Shooting for Publication .............................................................................313 Understanding group photography basics ....................................313 Photographing groups of two to two dozen ..................................314 Composing effective group shots ....................................................315 Managing the group ..........................................................................315 PR Photography ..........................................................................................317 Executive portraits ............................................................................317 Company events ................................................................................320 Arranging a PR event worth photographing ..................................321 Other photoworthy events ..............................................................321 Producing placeable PR photos ......................................................322 Printing your PR photos ...................................................................323 Writing cutlines ..................................................................................323 Preparing the cutline for submission .............................................324 Submitting the photo ........................................................................326 Following up .......................................................................................326 Product Photography .................................................................................326 Product shot opportunities .............................................................327 Product demo shots ..........................................................................328 Chapter 5: Sports and Action Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .331 Choosing Your Weapons ............................................................................331 Digital camera features and action photography ..........................333 Digital cameras and latency .............................................................338 Taking Great Sports Photos .......................................................................341 Choosing your sport and your spot ................................................342 Winter sports: A special case ..........................................................350 Taking Your First Action Photo .................................................................352 Setting your ISO speed ......................................................................352 Understanding how to stop action ..................................................353 Stopping action with slow shutter speeds .....................................354
Table of Contents xix
Panning ...............................................................................................356 Action approaching the camera ......................................................357 Using blur creatively .........................................................................358
Taking the Picture .......................................................................................360 Capturing great sports moments ....................................................360 Setting up for predictable action .....................................................360 Capturing the fans .............................................................................363
Chapter 6: Travel Photography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .365 Choosing Equipment ..................................................................................365 Selecting a camera for your needs ..................................................365 Choosing key camera features .........................................................368 Choosing lenses for travel ................................................................369 Considering a tripod .........................................................................369 Choosing an electronic flash ............................................................370 Selecting a camera bag .....................................................................372 Keeping your camera powered ........................................................374 Other useful devices .........................................................................376 Getting Ready to Go on the Road ..............................................................378 Meeting Your Storage Requirements ........................................................379 Tried-and-True Travel Photography Techniques ....................................380 Shooting scenics ................................................................................380 Capturing monuments and architecture ........................................382 Shooting panoramas .........................................................................386 Shooting adventure sports ...............................................................387 Photographing people ......................................................................388 Capturing people and their places ..................................................391 Documenting Your Trip ..............................................................................393 Varying your shots ............................................................................393 Composing your shots ......................................................................394 Getting organized ..............................................................................395
Book IV: Basics of Image Editing................................401
Chapter 1: What You Can and Can’t Do with Image Editing Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .403 Correcting Colors ........................................................................................403 You can’t add color that isn’t there ................................................404 Fixing color casts ...............................................................................405 Causes of color catastrophe ............................................................407 Adjusting Brightness and Contrast ...........................................................408 Murky shadows and washed-out highlights ..................................410 Maintaining consistency ...................................................................413 Reviving lost detail ............................................................................414Digital Photography All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies, 2nd Edition xx
Using Blurring and Sharpening Tools .......................................................416 Sharpening here and there ...............................................................417 Blurring for effect ..............................................................................418
Repairing Damage, Small and Large ..........................................................421 Removing artifacts (or tiny blemishes) ..........................................421 Spackling over more serious damage .............................................425
Removing Unwanted Image Content .........................................................429 Delete your ex-brother-in-law ..........................................................429 Cranial tree-ectomies ........................................................................430
Combining Pictures .....................................................................................434 Pasting content from other images .................................................435 Using layers to create overlapping images ....................................436 Adjusting opacity for interesting effects ........................................438
Chapter 2: Common Editing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .441 Checking Out Your Editing Toolkit ............................................................441 Painting Tools ..............................................................................................444 Customizing your Brush and Pencil tools ......................................445 Choosing a paint color ......................................................................446 Applying the paint .............................................................................449 Using the Eraser as a painting tool .................................................455 Selection Tools ............................................................................................456 Making geometric selections ...........................................................456 Drawing freeform selections ............................................................461 Selecting pixels by color with the Magic Wand .............................465 Blending Tools .............................................................................................469 Smudging and smearing your colors ..............................................469 Blurring the edges .............................................................................470 Using the Scratch Remover ..............................................................471 Correction Tools ..........................................................................................473 Using the Sponge tool to add and remove color ...........................473 Adjusting lights and darks ...............................................................474 Chapter 3: Choosing the Right Image Editor for You . . . . . . . . . . . . .479 Looking at Popular Image Editors: The Basics ........................................479 Adobe Photoshop — Alone at the Top .....................................................481 What’s good about Photoshop ........................................................482 What’s not so good about Photoshop ............................................482 What you can do with Photoshop ...................................................483 Where to get Photoshop ...................................................................485 Second-Tier Image Editors .........................................................................485 Adobe Photoshop Elements .............................................................486 Corel PhotoPaint ...............................................................................488 Jasc Paint Shop Pro ...........................................................................490 Macromedia Fireworks .....................................................................493 Corel Painter ......................................................................................496 Ulead PhotoImpact ............................................................................499
Table of Contents xxi