LESSON 2

BASIC OPERATIONS OF PHOTOSHOP

Objectives:
a) Identify the basic operations of Photoshop;
b) Distinguish the different file formats;
c) Demonstrate the steps in opening files, saving the work and creating e new document; and
d) State the importance of the following options in the new dialogue box.

Contents:
a) Opening Files
b) Saving Your Work
c) Creating a New Document
d) Other options in the New dialogue box that also need to be determined
Adobe Photoshop CS is a popular image editing software that provides a work environment consistent with
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Image Ready, and other products in the Adobe Creative Suite.
This tutorial is an introduction to using Adobe Photoshop. Here you will learn how to get started, and what
are the basic operation of photoshop.
A. OPENING FILES

OPEN
As with most programs, the option to Open a File can
be found in the File Menu, Fig 2.1. This operation also has a
keyboard shortcut Ctrl-O/Cmd-O (PC-Mac).

Fig 2.1 Opening a file from the file menu

Once you've selected to Open a file, the Open Dialogue

box will appear. From here you can navigate to your files and
images, Fig 2.2.

Fig 2.2 The Open Dialogue box

OPEN AS
In addition to the standard Open option in the File
Menu, there is also choice to Open As. The Open As dialogue
box is almost identical to the Open dialogue box, except that it
allows you open an image in one format and have it appeared in
Photoshop as a different format, Fig 2.3.

Fig 2.3 The Open As dialogue box, showing

some of many available file format.

As useful application of the Open As command is that you can

open most single layered file formats as a Camera Raw document.
This will open the image into the Camera plugin (Fig 2.4) that is
part of Adobe Photoshop. From here you can quickly and easily
make simple adjustments to your image without having to get into
complex editing techniques in Photoshop. Editing in Camera Raw
will be covered in the second book in the series. Fig 2.4 Camera Raw
OPEN AS SMART
The third option is to use Open As Smart Object. A Smart Object allows
non-destructive editing of your image and is useful if you are planning on
making extreme edits or multiple transformations, such as scaling, to your
image. Smart objects appear in the Layer panel with a small icon in the bottom
right hand corner and if you apply a filter to them, they will display the filter
below the layer Fig 2.5. The applicationof a filter to a Smart Object is not
permanent and the setting can be changed at any time by double clicking on the
filter name in the Layer panel.

Fig 2.5 A Smart Object

There are several other ways of getting an image into Photoshop, including simply dragging an image
onto the work area. You can also use one of the two file browsing options; Bridge and Mini-Bridge. Adobe
Bridge and Mini-Bridge will be covered in detail in the second book in this series.

B. SAVING YOUR WORK

When you need to save your work, you will go to the File menu and choose Save or Save As.

SAVE
If the file has been saved previously, the file will be updated. If the document has not been
previously saved you will see the same dialogue box as if you had pressed Save As.

SAVE AS
This command brings up a dialogue box (Fig 2.6) where you can name the file, choose the properties that
you wish to be included in the file and also choose the file format.

FILE FORMAT

When you click on the Format drop down menu in the "Save
As" dialogue box (Fig 2.6) you will notice that Photoshop allows
you to save your file in many different formats. Some of these
formats are now redundant and are only there to provide backwards
compatibility. Others are specialist formats used in areas such as
medical imaging. In reality you only need to know a few of these
formats - the number depends on the type of work you are doing.

Fig 2.6 The Save As Dialogue Box

POPULAR & USEFUL FILE FORMATS

*PSD (Photoshop Document) *

This is Photoshop's native file format and if you only use Photoshop as you image editor, it's the one
that will give you the most flexibility. It will retain all layers, adjustments and effects that you have applied to
your image.
This format also supports high bit depth filed up to 32bits. The file sizes for high bit depth files can
be extremely large so think carefully before you consider saving your image in anything other than 8bits.
*TIFF, TIF (Tagged-Image File Format) *
It has most of the same attributes as the PSD format (when opened in Photoshop). This format is useful
for its compatibility with almost all software that will open image data. It also allows the use of several
different compression methods to reduce the size of your file.

* JPEG, JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)*

This format is mostly used for images that will be displayed on screen or the web. 'This file format
uses "Lossy" compression, which is to say, that data is lost during the compression process resulting in a much
smaller file, but may also compromise image quality. If your camera only takes JPEG images I recommend
that you save the image as a PSD during the editing process, as repeatedly opening and saving JPEG images
causes recompression of the images and can severely degrade the data, resulting in very noticeable
compression artifacts.

*GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) *

It is used to display indexed colour mode graphics. This file format may only contain 256 colours so it
is not commonly used for photographs. However, it has several characteristics that have made it very
popular in web graphics.
• Small file size
• Supports transparency
• Supports animation

*PNG (Portable Network Graphics) *

Like the GIF format this format is commonly used for web graphics. The PNG format is a lot more
flexible in its support for 24bit photographic images and alternative colour modes than the GIF format.
However, it is not as widely supported in web browsers.
We will look at the JPEG, GIF and PNG formats in more detail when we cover saving images for the
web in book three of this series.

*PDF (Portable Document Format) *

It is very useful for displaying files across multiple platforms and applications. It has the benefit of
supporting compression, 16bit format and common colour modes, whilst retaining font, vector, raster
information and Photoshop editing (if selected).

C. CREATING A NEW DOCUMENT

You can create a new document by selecting New from the File menu or by using the keyboard shortcut
CtrI-N/Cmd-N (PC/Mac). The New Dialogue Box allows you set all of the parameters for your new
document and has a number of presets to get you started, Fig 2.7 and Fig 2.8. It is important to set up your
document correctly. For example, you need it to be at the correct size and resolution for its intended
purpose. If you select a paper size preset, it will automatically set the resolution for print. Likewise, if a web
preset is selected the resolution will be set accordingly.

Fig 2.7 The New Dialogue Box & The Preset Options
 Fig 2.8 The International Paper & Web Size Options

OTHER OPTIONS IN THE NEW DIALOGUE BOX THAT ALSO NEED TO BE DETERMINED

➢ COLOUR MODE
For example, RGB for web design and photography and CMYK for commercial print.

➢ BACKGROUND CONTENTS
This determines the colour of your background layer.

➢ BIT DEPTH
8 bit is generally fine unless you are intending to perform some major image editing or have a
lot of gradients in a design, in which case it would be better to work in 16 bit mode and then
convert to 8 bit once the editing process is completed. Web graphics must be 8 bit.

TWO OPTIONS UNDER THE ADVANCED SECTION OF THE DIALOGUE BOX

➢ COLOUR PROFILE
You should leave the colour profile set to sRGB except for those wishing to do advanced
photographic work, in which case you may wish to use Adobe RGB or ProPhoto RBG.

➢ PIXEL ASPECT RATIO

In almost all cases this should be set to Square Pixels. Rectangular pixels are only
generally used to correctly display widescreen video content.

When you click OK, you will have a new empty document with a single layer.

GROUP ACTIVITY:

The class will be divided into 5 groups (use the same groupings). Each group will create a
presentation on how to demonstrate the following. Based on the understanding the supplementary notes, you
may also use different sources through internet. The presentation will be 3 to 5 minutes and will be
presenting next meeting. Below are the following groups with assigned task.
GROUP 1- Creating a New Document
GROUP 2- Differentiate the popular and useful file formats
GROUP 3- Saving your work
GROUP 4- Discuss further the following options in the Dialogue Box
GROUP 5- Opening files