Combining Images with Photoshop Elements

Ted LoCascio is a professional graphic designer, a Photoshop World instructor, and an expert in InDesign(r), Photoshop(r), Illustrator(r), and QuarkXPress(r). He was a senior designer at the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) for several years, and has done layout and design on many successful software training books. He is the author of InDesign CS2 at Your Fingertips and The InDesign Effects Book.

Introduction. Chapter 1: It All Starts with an Idea. The Creative Process. Telling Your Story. Getting Inspired. Staying Inspired. Gathering Images. The Power of Observation. Image Resources. Understanding Resolution. Pixel Logic. What's My Resolution? RGB Color Mode. Color Settings. Converting Profiles. Chapter 2: Making Good Selections. Defining "Good" Selections. The Selection Border. The Tools Palette. The Marquee Tools. The Rectangular Marquee. The Elliptical Marquee. The Lasso Tools. The Lasso Tool. The Magnetic Lasso Tool. The Polygonal Lasso Tool. The Selection Brush. Magic Selection Tools. The Magic Wand. The Magic Eraser. The Magic Selection Brush. The Magic Extractor. The Background Eraser. Chapter 3: Modifying Selections. Adding and Subtracting. Keystroke Modifiers. The Expand/Contract Commands. The Grow/Similar Commands. The Selection Brush. Changing a Selection's Edge. Border. Smooth. Feather. Invert. Saving and Loading Selections. Chapter 4: Mastering Layers. Defining Layer Types. Image Layers. Effect Layers. Layer Control. Controlling Layer Visibility. Selecting Multiple Layers. Linking and Unlinking. Locking and Unlocking. Adding Image Layers. Creating New Layers. Naming Layers. Layer Navigation. Adding Effect Layers. Adding Fill Layers. Adding Adjustment Layers. Managing Layers. Merging and Flattening Layers. Deleting Unused Layers. Chapter 5: The Power of Opacity and Blending. Adjusting Layer Opacity. Examples: Creating Shadows and Softening Focus. Applying Blend Modes. A Quick Tour of the Blend Modes. Example: Interactive Blend Modes. Chapter 6: Compositing with Masks. What Is a Mask? Black Conceals, White Reveals. Clipping Masks and Groups. Blending with Masks and Groups. Filling Selections in a Layer Mask. Feathering Layer Masks. Gradient Blending with Layer Masks. Painting in Layer Masks. Vector-Based Clipping Masks. Type Masks. Shape Masks. Chapter 7: Advanced Masking with Camera RAW. Working with Camera RAW Files. Defining Camera RAW. The Camera RAW Dialog. Combining Shadow/Highlight Information. Combining Color Temperature. Chapter 8: Adding Filters, Styles, and Effects. Filters and the Filter Gallery. A Word of Warning. Applying Filters. The Filter Gallery. Layer Styles. Applying Styles. Editing Styles. Copying Styles. Clearing Styles. Simplifying Layers. Effects. Applying Effects. Example: Altering Image Effects. Example: Textures and Type Masks. Framing Your Final Image. Exercise: Creating a Custom Frame. Index.