Useful Photoshop 6.0 Keyboard Shortcuts & Tips
Task	Result	Windows Action	Mac Action
Adjust	Levels	Control + L	Cmd - L
	Auto Contrast	Control + Alt + Shift + L	Cmd - Option - Shift - L
	Curves	Control + M	Cmd - M
	Color Balance	Control + B	Cmd - B
	Hue/Saturation	Control + U	Cmd - U
	Desaturate	Control + Shift + U	Cmd - Shift - U
General	Open Image	Control + O	Cmd - O
	Deselect	Control + D	Cmd - D
	Undo last operation	Control + Z	Cmd - Z
	Help	F1	F1
Selecting & Moving	Increase/Decrease Brush Size	[ or ]
	reposition marquee while selecting	spacebar while holding down mouse button
	draw marquee starting in center	alt while holding down mouse button
	nudge selection by 1 pixel	arrow keys
nudge selection by 10 pixels	Shift + arrow keys
Tools	Marquee Tools	M
	Move Tool	V
	Lasso Tools	L
	Magic Wand	W
	Crop Tool	C
	Slice Tool	K
	Airbrush Tool	J
	Paintbrush Tool/ Pencil Tool	B
	Clone Stamp Tools	S
	History Brush Tools	Y
	Eraser Tools	E
	Gradient Tools/ Paint Bucket Tool	G
	Blur/Sharpen/Smudge Tools	R
	Dodge/Burn/Sponge Tools	O
	Path Component Selection Tool	A
	Type Tool	T
	Pen Tool	P
	Rectangle Tool	U
	Notes Tool	N
	Color Sampler Tools/ Measure Tool	l
	Hand Tool	H
	Zoom Tool	Z
	Edit in Standard/Quick Mask Mode	Q
	Standard Screen Mode/ Full Screen Mode w Menu Bar/ Full Screen Mode	F
	Jump to ImageReady	Control + Shift+M	Cmd - Shift - M
Viewing	Hide all palettes & tool bar *** Return all palettes & tool bar	Tab
	Hide only palettes	Shift + Tab
	Show Rulers	Control + R	Cmd - R
	Size photo to 100%	double-click on zoom tool
	Zoom in on photo *** Zoom out	Control & + *** Control & -	Cmd & + *** Cmd & -
Tips	Work on images @ 100%, 50%, or 25%. Other sizes distort edges of photo.

Photoshop Techniques
	Prevention	Technique	Technique
Action File Tutorial		Save .atn file Open PS & select action palette Select options (triangle on right side of actions palette) -> load action, then load the file Select an action Hit play button & the action will be performed
Black & White Conversion		Channel Mixer: 30% Red/ 40% Green/ 30% Blue (starting point) Adjust levels for contrast Compare results to "convert to grayscale" for best results percentages should add up to 100 to show texture & detail, keep percentage >20% for color distinction keep each percentage slightly different (33% + 40% + 27%) convert to grayscale conversion: approximately 30% red /60% green /10% blue ©2000, GC  Channel Mixer: 60% red / 58% green / -12% blue, Constant=0, Monochrome=on ©2001, CK	Image -> Mode -> Lab Color In Channels palette delete a & b channels Convert remaining Lightness channel (Alpha 1) to grayscale (image -> mode -> grayscale) Adjust image (levels, unsharp mask, etc.) OR Substitute: SilverOxide Photoshop plug-in filters for Windows systems
Border around photo		increase canvas size (for border width) copy to new layer increase canvas size for shadow to fall layer -> effect -> drop shadow & outer glow for shadow effect	Gordon Cheung's Photo Border Action
Near Infrared Techniques	Hoya Infrared R72 Filter required   Websites: Oly C2500-L Near Infrared Initial Tests	Camera Technique Use a tripod Set camera to manual mode and infinity setting, long exposure Frame shot in viewfinder prior to attaching filter Block viewfinder with lens cap holder or finger in order to block incoming light (otherwise you will notice a bright circle in the middle of your photo Bracket long exposure setting from 1-2 sec (maybe longer) to get best possible shot	Photoshop Technique Channel Mix:  70/30 red/green Keep file in RGB format (for additional channel adjustments) or convert to grayscale when satisfied with results Level & curve adjustment to bring back texture Unsharp mask Note:  since the red channel is softer with less resolution, you may have to resize photo to half the size in order to get the sharpness comparable to a normal-size, 3-channel photo.
Noise:  Long Exposure (bright, colored pixels; the longer the exposure, the brighter the pixels)	ISO 100 to minimize Shorter exposures = less noise	Perform global adjustments such as levels & curves, color balance, etc. first as these adjustments tend to intensify artifacts. Dust & Scratches Filter:  use large threshold (start with 20) to isolate bright pixels; adjust until pixels just disappear. Unsharp Mask: low setting with multiple passes	OR Substitute: Gaussian Filter (instead of Dust & Scratches filter): best used when blurring is not a problem. OR Substitute: Median Filter: setting of 2 followed by unsharp mask to restore some sharpness
Noise:  Long Exposure Fireworks photos		Camera Technique Use a tripod HQ setting Manual mode Infinity setting start with long exposure setting of 1.5 seconds; bracket exposure to get a feel for desired effect very large, bright, multiple displays (such as the Macy's Fireworks Display in NYC) may require 1/2-second exposures while smaller displays do well with 1.5 second exposures 1.5 second exposure should result in a photo that contains the tail as well as a blossoming fireworks shot.  Be sure to snap your photo when the tail becomes visible through the viewfinder and adjust your exposure time to allow the "blossoming" of the display. Be sure to take at least one reference shot (lens cap on with same ISO/aperture/shutter speed.)	Photoshop Technique Magic Wand to select firework; select similar Select -> inverse to highlight background Gaussian blur to smooth noise Unsharp mask:  either select -> inverse to sharpen only fireworks or apply to entire photo OR Substitute: Dust & Scratches Filter (as in Noise:  Long Exposure above) OR Substitute: Tutorial on Defeating Jpeg Artifacts OR: Copy & paste reference shot into original photo; will now be on separate layer. Change blending option on this new layer to difference.
Noise:  Shadow (seen in dark areas; also seen in shadowed areas of brightly lit scenes)	ISO 100 to minimize Don't underexpose TOO much Fill-Flash or reflector for high contrast, when possible	Perform global adjustments such as levels & curves, color balance, etc. first as these adjustments tend to intensify artifacts. Isolate affected area:  noise filters have a softening effect; best to isolate only affected areas. Median Filter:  2 to 3 passes at a setting of 1-3. Unsharp Mask: low setting with multiple passes	OR: Tutorial on Defeating Jpeg Artifacts
Portraits (for the over 40 crowd)	Pay particular attention to composition, lighting effect as well as small details	Use a very slight softening filter. Use unsharp mask judiciously; try restricting to eyes, lips, & hair highlights. Use the cloning tool to minimize the signs of aging and not totally erase them; use the "lighten" option, lower opacity to 40% and use a smaller soft brush.
Printing in 7.0	Adobe Photoshop 7 Managing Colour When Printing
Vignette of an image		Marquee tool to select area Select -> feather -> 12 pixels Select -> inverse Delete selection Add new layer behind image & fill with desired color

	Gordon Cheung's C-2500L Actions  ©2000, Gordon Cheung A collection of actions intended to solve common problems encountered in Olympus C-2500L photos. 1) soft2n1_lvlmask:  soft to normal-1 mode conversion 2) shadow noise:  removes shadow noise 3) color noise - color:  color noise removal 4) backlit dodge:  lighten backlit area without blowing out highlight 5) photo border - drop shadow:  add white photo border with drop shadow 6) barrel:  barrel distortion fix
	Charlie Bustamante's Sharpening Actions for SHQ-JPEG Soft Mode  ©2000, Charlie Bustamante All of these actions will create a new layer so that you can change the capacity to taste.  You'll have to then flatten the image or at least merge the layer down.  I have organized actions into two groups; the first two actions use the Photoshop sharpen filter and the remainder of the actions use the Unsharpen filter.  If you are like me and have a terrible disdain for halo artifacts and other artifacts that start to make your photograph look like graphic, then you might want to stick to the first two or three.  If you don't mind halos and kind of like the standard Olympus sharpening then you might like 4 through 7 better. 1) SharpenRBviaG:  best all-around; defaults to 50 percent opacity but don't be shy about moving the slider to 100 percent.  Fifty percent default still maintains hair as hair and is a good all-around setting for people pictures (skin). 2) RazorSharpenRBviaG:  ridiculously sharp; only to be used for extreme cases when you just want to have fun or when you want that postcard like sharpening.  Best used for pictures devoid of people and involving either architecture or foliage etc..  (I Rarely use it) 3) UnsharpenRBviaG:  the first of the unsharpen variety; very linear for an unsharpen function but can be noisier because the threshold is set 0.  When starting with an image that is too noisy to sharpen with one of the above, I try 4 through 7 below: 4) UnsharpRBviaG1gc:  Gordon's unsharp parameters applied to the green channel then imparted onto the red and blue channels via layering.  A single pass. 5) UnsharpRBviaG2gc:  Gordon's unsharp parameters applied to the green channel then imparted onto the red and blue channels via layering.  A double pass. 6) 1gc w/layer:  creates a new layer; simply a single pass. 7) 1gc:  simply a single pass to the current layer.
	Ultra-Sharpen 3.0 Pro:  freeware action for PS 5.5 only; PC only (not for Mac OS.)
	Action Exchange
	Action FX
	DeepSpaceWeb Actions

 

Photoshop Tips from Element K Journal's Inside Photoshop are now located here

 

Paint Shop Pro Techniques
	Photoshop Command = Paint Shop Pro Command	Prevention	Technique
	Levels = Adjustable Histogram (Shift+Control+H) in version 7 only OR Highlight/Midtone/Shadow function (Shift+M) & the Histogram (Alt+V+H) and Gamma Correction (Shift+G)
Noise Removal		Long Exposure Prevention Tips Shadow Noise Prevention Tips	Layer: duplicate to copy layer Layer Palette: change from normal to color mode Gaussian Blur: blur top layer in color mode using radius of 4 or higher Toggle eyeglass icon on color layer to view before & after fix