I have learned a few tips and tricks here and there from various sources on how to adjust photos using Photoshop Element. I thought I'd share them with you. These are real basic steps, but hopefully they will help someone.
What I tend to use most of the time is my Create Adjustment Layer tool. It is the black and white circle icon on the layers platte. I like to have my adjustments on their own layer so I can easily turn them on and off if I don’t like what I see. Where as if I do things to the actually picture itself, I may have a lot of undoing to do if I find I am not happy with the adjusting. Does that make sense?
I’ll take you step by step what I did to one of my photos.
So, I clicked on the Create Adjustment Layer icon and from the drop down menu I usually choose the Levels option. I then play with both sliders to get just the right lighting. Sometimes this is all I need to do.
However, I might need to go a step further. This photo has too much yellow in it so to remove it I will choose Hue/Saturation from the pervious drop down menu.
I then slide the Saturation slider a little to the left and the Lightness slider a little to the right.
And finally, I might make further adjustments with the Brightness/Contrast options from the Create Adjustment Layer as well.
Here is the before and after. It isn’t perfect, but it is better.
Other tips:
In some pictures where the lighting is good but I want more vibrant colors, I will usually use the Hue/Saturation layer and move the Saturation to the right until I get my desired effect. And if I want more muted tones, I move the same slider to the left.
I also use Actions I have bought from Scrap Girls and The Coffee Shop Blog has some great FREE actions and editing tips.
I hope this helps a little. Good luck and Happy Editing!
