Photoshop Top 40 with Deke McClelland

Photoshop Top 40 with Deke McClelland

Author: lynda.com Language: English Episodes: 46
Ever opened Photoshop and felt a bit lost in the sheer volume of panels and menus? You're not alone. That's where Photoshop Top 40 with Deke McClelland comes in. Instead of another sprawling tutorial series, imaging expert Deke McClelland distills the entire application down to its absolute essentials. This podcast isn't about every single button; it's a curated list of the forty most powerful features, from crucial tools and hidden commands to foundational concepts that change how you approach an image. Master these, and you truly grasp the program's core. Each episode focuses on one of these key elements, breaking it down with clear explanations. You'll hear why Deke, an award-winning author, considers each feature indispensable, often with practical examples of how it fits into a real-world workflow. The goal is efficiency and understanding, moving you from following steps to knowing why you're taking them. Originally from lynda.com, this series also includes a special look at the top new features from Photoshop CS5, serving as a great snapshot of the software's evolution. It's a focused, authoritative tour of what really matters in Photoshop.
Episodes
Photoshop Feature #16: Adjustment Layers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:25
An adjustment layer is an independent layer of color adjustment that can edit any time you like. Plus it affects all layers below it, consumes very little space in memory, and affords the opportunity for selective edits.
Photoshop Feature #17: Layer Effects [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:17
Yes, layer effects let you make drop shadows. But they also let you create credible compositions, render simple layers in dimension, and add ambient lighting. I cannot imagine working in Photoshop without them.
Photoshop Feature #18: Smart Objects [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:37
Smart objects aren't all that smart. And they aren't objects. What they are is envelopes. The kind that hold things. And keep them safe. So that everything you do protects the image from harm. This is Photoshop at its be…
Photoshop Feature #19: Luminance Blending [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:00
Buried deep inside the Layer Style dialog box are two slider bars, This Layer and Underlying Layer, that let you blend pixels according to their brightness. Despite their prosaic names, these sliders rank among the most…
Photoshop Feature #20: Free Transform [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:38
As powerful as Photoshop is, there is little about the program that is obvious. Case in point: How do you rotate a layer? Right-click on it and select Rotate? Choose Rotate from the Layer menu? Click on the Rotate tool?…
Photoshop Feature #21: The Gradient Tool [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:42
Every app offers a gradient tool. But Photoshops is special. Not only can you paint a soft transition from black to white. But you can soften the transition from one image to another. The gradient tool fades, swipes, and…
Photoshop Feature #22: The Healing Brush [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:33
Be they pits, pock marks, or pimples, we all suffer blemishes that we wish we didnt. Or so we would were it not for Photoshops healing brush. This amazing tool grafts good skin onto bad--and heals the seams in between.
Photoshop Feature #23: Color Range [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:41
If you use the magic wand tool, stop what youre doing and switch to Color Range. This outrageously useful command lets you select an image as easily as the wand. But with more flexibility and much better results.
Photoshop Feature #24: Curves [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:28
Where luminance-correction is concerned, no feature gives you greater control than Curves. This one command lets you rein in highlights, open up shadows, and reveal all points in between. Curves takes a bud of an image a…
Photoshop Feature #25: Selection Calculations [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:24
You may know that you can add to a selection by pressing the Shift key. But you can likewise press keys to subtract and find an intersection. Better yet, these tricks apply to layers, channels, and paths. They're a power…