Now, that we've been introduced to the topic of layers and also layer transparency, what I want to do here is start to take a look at how we can begin to work with layers, and I want to work with this photograph here. This is a picture of one of my good friends, Matt Kloskowski. He's actually written a great book on layers, so that would be fitting to use this picture. Well, over here in the Layers panel, before we start to click around, what I want to do is change the way these layers are displayed. You can do that by right-clicking or Ctrl-clicking in the Layers panel, and here I'm going to choose a larger thumbnail size, I'll choose Large Thumbnails.
You can see my layer thumbnails are now much bigger. Sometimes this is helpful in order to be able to actually see what's in the panel. You can always change this by simply right-clicking or Ctrl-clicking and then choosing a different option as well. Okay, we'll go back to that Large Thumbnail option because it's good for demos. You notice that Background layer has its visibility turned on. Next, I'm going to turn on the visibility of this layer, clean up, and a little bit of color adjustment. Here, we can see that before and then after. Basically, removing his tag and then changing the color of the lens a little bit.
Next, I have a color adjustment layer. This particular layer really warms things up, so it changes the color and tone-- kind of did something which looks a little bit like fire. Here, we can see the before, and now then the after. Well, if you click in a layer, you have some controls which allow you to control it. We talked a little bit about transparency, and in Photoshop, they refer to that by opacity. Well, if something is opaque, you can't see through it. Well, you can decrease its opacity and make it more transparent.
For example, with this color adjustment layer, if we click and drag the slider to the left, well, now we're going to have less of a color effect, and you can see I'm slowly diminishing that. Here is 8%, and then bring it up to 100 by way of comparison. We can also duplicate layers. We can do so a couple of different ways. You can either click and drag this to the New layer icon, or you can press Command+J or Ctrl+J. By doing that, it will then duplicate the layer. Here, you can see I've stacked up or increased this color effect by duplicating the layer.
We can also turn off the visibility of these layers if we want to diminish this, or we could target one of these layers that we've turned on, and we could just lower the opacity so that we can then control how much color we're bringing into our picture. Well, next, up top we have two layers which have some text in them, layers and then layers are cool. Well, let's say that I want to move these layers around. Well, we can click in this graphic layer here, and with our Move tool selected, we can go ahead and click and drag to reposition this.
We can also do the same thing with this layer. We'll go ahead and again click and drag to change that location. Well, if ever you want to move two layers together, just hold down the Command or Ctrl key, and then click on both layers. With two or more layer selected, you can then move them by simply clicking and dragging. You can also change some characteristics about the layers. For example, we could decrease the opacity so that these will become more transparent, and we can do that two layers at a time, or you can just target one layer and modify its opacity by itself. And you can see how I can do this by simply clicking and changing that opacity amount.
Author
Released
4/26/2012The course details the features and techniques behind enhancing and retouching photos, preparing them for print and online publishing, and much more. Chris demonstrates how to make basic edits in Camera Raw, develop and save color profiles, work with layers and selections, tone and sharpen, and retouch images while retaining their natural character.
Chris also shares some creative tips and project ideas, such as converting a photo to black-and-white and enhancing a portrait with hand-painted masks. The course also covers workflow details, such as organizing images in Bridge and Mini Bridge, optimizing Photoshop preferences, and calibrating your monitor.
- Getting started with Bridge and Mini Bridge
- Setting up color and performance preferences
- Calibrating your monitor
- Improving images with the basic controls in Camera Raw
- Creating, aligning, and organizing layers
- Using masks for removing or blending images and for sharpening
- Working with vibrancy, hue, and saturation controls
- Enhancing color and tone with Levels
- Using Curves and masks to enhance brightness, color, and tone
- Mastering the art of blending modes
- Correcting and replacing color
- Burning and dodging
- Converting to black and white
Skill Level Beginner
Duration
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Introduction
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Welcome55s
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1. Strategies for Learning
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2. Getting Started with Bridge and Mini Bridge
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Adding metadata and keywords4m 47s
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Renaming images1m 45s
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Working with Mini Bridge4m 36s
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3. Color Settings and Preferences
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Modifying zoom preferences4m 20s
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Changing HUD brush options3m 41s
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Opening up documents in tabs4m 11s
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Choosing cursor preferences5m 14s
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4. Foundations of Color Management
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Introducing color profiles5m 17s
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Setting up your studio1m 59s
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5. Getting Started with Photoshop
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Introducing the Tools panel4m 53s
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6. Understanding Digital Images
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Introducing image resizing3m 42s
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Resizing images effectively3m 48s
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7. Working in Camera Raw
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What is Camera Raw?2m 47s
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8. Utilizing Layers
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Introducing layers2m 22s
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Working with layer opacity3m 29s
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Aligning layers1m 32s
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Creating new layers4m 53s
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Organizing layers2m 31s
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Adding layer style effects5m 28s
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Creating a clipping mask6m 50s
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Targeting and moving layers2m 13s
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9. Making Selections
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Using the three lasso tools4m 56s
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10. Using the Masking Panel
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Introducing masking1m 14s
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11. Adding Custom Borders
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Using prebuilt borders4m 13s
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12. Improving Your Images with Adjustments
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13. Using Levels to Correct and Enhance
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Working with auto levels3m 36s
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Creative tip: checking in2m 38s
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14. Making Color and Tone Adjustments with Curves
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15. The Art of Blending Modes
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Using blending shortcuts2m 4s
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16. Correcting Color
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17. Enhancing Colors
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Creative tip: shoot more1m 37s
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18. Burning and Dodging
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19. Converting to Black and White
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The power of black and white4m 14s
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20. Working with Filters
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Introducing Smart Filters3m 36s
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Applying Smart Filters6m 20s
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Working with Tilt-Shift Blur3m 52s
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21. Removing Noise
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22. Basic Image Cleanup
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Basic portrait retouching3m 15s
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Brightening the eyes2m 30s
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Retouching selected areas5m 27s
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23. Correcting Distortion and Perspective
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24. Combining Multiple Images
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25. Sharpening Your Images
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Working with Smart Sharpen6m 17s
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Using Unsharpen Mask4m 49s
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26. Getting Your Images Online
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Sharpening for the web3m 5s
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Creating a web gallery5m 49s
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27. Desktop Printing
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Adjusting printer settings3m 43s
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28. Working with Video
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Exporting a project2m 15s
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Conclusion
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Goodbye35s
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Video: Working with layer opacity