IMPORTING, ORGANIZING, EXPORTING, AND SAVING

MyGraphicsLab: Adobe Photoshop CS6

ACA Certification Preparation for Visual Communication

Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

OBJECTIVES

This presentation covers the following ACA Exam objectives:

3.3 Demonstrate knowledge of importing, exporting, organizing, and
saving.

3.4 Demonstrate knowledge of producing and reusing images.

Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

IMPORTING AND OPENING FILES: SCANNED IMAGES

 To open scanned images in

Photoshop, we recommend
using Adobe Bridge:

Select the Essentials

Workspace in Bridge.
Click the Folders tab.
Navigate to the folder where
your scanned TIFF file is saved.
Open the folder, and doubleclick the scanned TIFF file.

 Note that scanner drivers and

software are supplied by the
scanner vendor, not by Adobe.
 Some scanners offer direct
Photoshop access via WIA
(Windows) or TWAIN (an older
plug-in that is no longer being
updated); it is best to check
your scanners user guide.
Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

IMPORTING AND OPENING FILES: DIGITAL-CAMERA IMAGES

 With a digital SLR camera, your

pictures are saved on a memory
card.
 You have two ways to connect
your card to your computer:

Using the cameras USB cable

Using a memory-card reader

 We recommend using Adobe

Bridge as your importing
software:

Open Bridge.
Choose File > Get Photos
from Camera.

 You can also import directly to

Photoshop: Choose File >
Import > Images from Device.
Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

IMPORTING AND OPENING FILES: CAMERA RAW IMAGES

 Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)

workflows require the following:

Scanned images should be

saved in TIFF format.
Digital-camera images should
be saved in the cameras raw
format.
Both types should be digitized
at the highest resolution
possible without resampling.

 We recommend using Bridge to

open camera raw, TIFF, or
JPEG files in ACR.
 We also recommend saving the
vendors raw format to Adobe
Digital Negative (DNG) format.

Most devices and software can

read DNG format.

Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

IMPORTING AND OPENING FILES: VIDEO

 Photoshop CS6 opens more

than a dozen video file formats
including AVI, MPEG-4, and
MOV (QuickTime).

See Photoshop Online Help for

a complete list.

 Imported videos appear in a

new Video Group in the Layers
panel and in the timeline.
 Imported videos can be used as
clips in a larger video, with
additional video frames created
in Photoshop.

Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

WORKFLOW: ORGANIZING FILES (1 OF 2)

 Organizing files is a key first

step in any workflow:

Rename files with descriptive

names so theyre searchable.
Add searchable keywords.
Collect related images in
folders with descriptive names.
Delete images you wont use.
Rate your images (ratings are
also searchable).

 See the videos Reviewing and

Rating Images and
Organizing Your Image
Library for details.

Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

WORKFLOW: ORGANIZING FILES (2 OF 2)

See also Adobe Photoshop

CS6 Classroom in a Book,
Lesson 5, pages 148149, for
professional photographer
Jay Grahams tips on an
optimal workflow.

In Photoshop, you can complete
many of these tasks, one file at
a time, in File > File Info.

But in Adobe Bridge, you can
perform all of these tasks and
more, on many images at once.

Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

WORKFLOW: BRIDGE

 Bridge allows you to navigate all

folders and files in your
computer and on a CD/DVD.

All file types appear in Bridge,

not just images.
Use a default workspace, or
create and save your own
(Window > Workspace > New
Workspace).
Rearrange panels by dragging
their tabs.

 In Bridge, you can search

names, keywords, and ratings.
 See the video Adobe Bridge
and Batch Renaming for a
good overview.

Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

WORKFLOW: MINI BRIDGE

Photoshops Mini Bridge allows

file search, navigation, and
selection in Photoshop, plus
direct access to Bridge.

To open or close, double-click
on the Mini Bridge tab at the
bottom of Photoshops editing
window.

Double-click on a selected
image to open it in Photoshop.

See the video Redesigned
Mini Bridge for an overview.

Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

WORKFLOW: KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

 Keyboard shortcuts speed up

production with quick access to
repeated menu selections.

Most tools and menus list

keyboard shortcuts next to
command names.

 To customize keyboard
shortcuts, choose Edit >
Keyboard Shortcuts.

Click Summarize to export an

HTML file of default or custom
keyboard shortcuts.
See the video Customizing
Keyboard Shortcuts for stepby-step instructions.
Photoshop warns you when you
choose a shortcut already in
use by another tool or menu.
Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

WORKFLOW: PRESETS

Presets give you quick access

to commonly used settings for
brushes, swatches, gradients,
shapes, styles, patterns,
contours, and tools.

Access tool presets by clicking
the arrow next to the tools icon
in the Options bar.

To create a new tool preset:
1.Make your custom settings
choices in the Options panel.
2.Choose New Tool Preset from the
Tool Presets panel menu.

The Swatches and Styles panel

menus provide preset options.

Patterns and Contours have
similar menus in Layer Styles.
Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

WORKFLOW: PRESET MANAGER

 The Preset Manager allows you

to manage all preset types in
one place.

Choose Edit > Presets >

Preset Manager.

 Load adds the new set to the

current set.
 To replace the current set:
1. Select all, and then click
Save Set.
2. Select all, and then click Delete.
3. Click Load, and choose the
replacement set.

 See Adobe Photoshop CS6

Classroom in a Book, pages
298299, for an exercise on
creating a custom brush
preset.
Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

WORKFLOW: TEMPLATES

 Photoshop does not have a

template file type, but you can
create your own templates for
repeatable projects such as web
prototypes and ad campaigns.
 As you design, make sure all
elements remain editable.

Use nondestructive editing tools

such as Smart Objects.
Keep content on separate
layers; group related layers.
Give layers descriptive names.
For type and vector elements,
avoid filters and other effects
that require rasterizing first.
Save in Photoshop (PSD)
format.
Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

WORKFLOW: SMART OBJECTS

 Smart Objects are special types

of layers that allow
nondestructive editing of the
original image or drawing.
 Placed vector drawings appear
as Smart Objects by default.
 To edit, double-click the layer
thumbnail, which shows a Smart
Object icon.

A version of the image opens,

where you make your edits.
Choose File > Save to commit
your changes.
Your edits will appear in the
original document.
The Smart Object remains
editable.
Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

OPTIMIZING IMAGES: PRINT

 When editing images for print:

 Edit in RGB mode.
 In Image > Image Size, use the
standard image resolutions for
print output:

240 ppi for desktop printers

300 ppi for commercial printers
See the video Preparing
Press-Quality Images for an
overview of image resizing.
 Downsample to final dimensions
after editingnever upsample.
 Convert to CMYK after making color
corrections and other edits.

Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

OPTIMIZING IMAGES: WEB

 Optimizing images for the web

balances two competing criteria:

Small file size (and thus fast
downloading)

Sharp, clear image quality
 Photoshops web-optimization
tools, in the Save for Web dialog
box, do most of the work for
you, but you must still adjust the
settings for each image.
 See the video Saving Images
for the Web for a good
introduction to Save for Web.
 See Adobe Photoshop CS6
Classroom in a Book, pages
338353, for an exercise
using Save for Web.
Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

SAVING AND EXPORTING FILES: REUSING IMAGES

 The most common reuse of

images is in page-layout
programs for print projects.
 To produce reusable images,
save the file as EPS (for
PostScript printers) or TIFF.
 If your image has an area you
want to remain transparent in
the page layout, you need to
create a clipping path.

Transparency alone does not

create a clipping path.
You can convert a selection to a
clipping path.

 See Photoshop Online Help,

Placing Photoshop images in
other applications, for details.
Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

SAVING AND EXPORTING FILES: PRINT

 For commercial printers, color

management becomes critical.
 In color management, each
device has a color profile that
aligns its color display to the
same known standard.

Well cover color management

in depth in a later topic.

 Use File > Convert to Profile as

a last step before sending the
file to the printer.

There, you will select the color

profile for the printing press.

 See the video Printing Images

for a tour of Photoshops
redesigned Print dialog box.

Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

SAVING AND EXPORTING FILES: WEB

To save as JPEG, choose File >

Save for Web. In the dialog box:
1. Choose a JPEG preset from the
Preset menu, or choose JPEG from
the second menu.
2. Select Optimized to reduce file size.
(Lowering Image Size also reduces
file size.)
3. Click the 2-Up tab, and compare
original and JPEG versions as you
try different quality settings.
4. Select Convert to sRGB (this is the
color profile used by web browsers).
5. Click Save, choose a name and
location, and click Save again.

Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education

SAVING AND EXPORTING FILES: VIDEO

 During development, save video

files in Photoshop format (PSD).
 To create the final video file,
render it to compute your edits:
File > Export > Render Video.
 In the Render Video dialog box,
choose Adobe Media Encoder,
and select a format:

DPX (Digital Picture Exchange)

for importing to a professional
video editor
H.264 (MPEG-4) is the most
versatile, with presets for HDTV
and optimized web formats
QuickTime (MOV), required for
exporting uncompressed video

Copyright 2013 MyGraphicsLab/Pearson Education