| 9.
Introduction to Adobe Photoshop CS2
Article
9 of 100
According
to Adobe the top ten features of Adobe Photoshop CS2 for photographers
are:
1.
Camera raw workflow enhancements -
Saving time by simultaneously processing color adjustments,
curves, crops and more in Adobe camera RAW while continuing
to work in Adobe Photoshop CS2. Having access to RAW support
for almost all currently available cameras and being able
to convert these files into the Adobe Digital Negative (DNG)
file format.
2.
Timesaving file handling with Adobe Bridge -
Simplified file handling and processing of RAW image files
for resizing, rate, labeling of thumbnails, slide show, search,
metadata, etc. We are of course in a transition period here
with many photographers switching over to Adobe Lightroom
for the same functions.
3.
Revolutionary Vanishing Point -
I have never used this feature but according to Adobe you
can "achieve amazing results" with this new tool
that will let you clone, paste and paint elements into a background
and match the perspective of the underlying background. We
will take a closer look later in this series.
4.
Spot Healing Brush - This brush
is used to retouch images with a single click. The older Cloning
tool is probably one of the main reasons that photographers
swear by Adobe Photoshop. Teenagers can have perfect skin
when processed through Photoshop and broken sidewalks can
look like they were built yesterday.
5.
Advanced noise reduction -
If you are shooting at high-ISOs on a regular basis or suffer
from a lot of JPEG artifacts for one reason or another you
are probably using not only Adobe's noise reduction tools
but have also experimented with every other tool available
(like Noise Ninja for one), most of these tools are of course
available as Photoshop plug ins.
6.
Optical lens corrections -
Correction of lens distortion, barrel and pincushion, chromatic
aberrations, and vignetting. DxO Optics Pro is a third party
lens correction software package that can save to Adobe DNG
files which can be opened directly in Adobe Photoshop CS2
or Adobe Lightroom.
7.
Smart Sharpen - Correct common
image blurring with motion, lens and Gaussian sharpening tools.
Many photographers rely on repeated use of Unsharp Mask to
get them through resizing and generally to save the day. We
will take a close look at all the sharpening tools later.
8.
Customizable workspaces and menus -
You can save your favorite screen set ups and make it easier
to get down to work. I assume this would really help if multiple
people are using the same computer but it has never been an
issue with me. Touch my computer and you die.
9.
32-bit High Dynamic Range (HDR) support -
Create and edit 32-bit images. The advantages are obvious
and I promise that we will explore this subject in depth.
10.
One-click red-eye correction -
Instant red-eye correction with one click. Not exciting for
me but we will take a closer look at this tool for those of
you who can't avoid this unfortunately common affliction.
I
would like to include one of my favorites to this list, the
Shadow/Highlight adjustment tool. Garish
if used in excess and incredibly beautiful when utilized to
just the right amount. Like pepper and salt in a soup, we
need just the right amount of highlights and subtle shades
to make a successful photograph.
The
list of reasons why a photographer needs a tool like Adobe
Photoshop CS is actually a lot longer than this and we will
try to cover as much as possible in the articles to follow.
P.S.
Please do not get upset if your personal experience and views
are different from my own. These opinions are mine exclusively
and do not reflect the views or policies of any of the manufacturers
mentioned in this article...... George
Mann |
