Photoshop Elements Color Correction
from the book "Photoshop Elements Missing Manual"
With Elements, you can dramatically improve the appearance of a photo with just
a click or two-even if you have no idea of what you're doing. The Quick Fix window
gathers together easy-to-use tools that can help you adjust the brightness and
color of your photos and make them look sharper. You don't even need to understand
much about what you're doing. You just need to know how to click a button
or slide a pointer with your mouse, and then decide whether you like the look of
what you just did.If, on the other hand, you do know what you're doing, you may still find yourself adjusting things like shadows and highlights in the Quick Fix window because it's the only place in Elements that gives you a before-and-after view as you work.
The Quick Fix Window
Getting to the Quick Fix window is easy. If you're in the Editor, go to the Shortcuts bar and click the Quick Fix button. If you're in the Organizer, on the Shortcuts bar, click the Edit button's drop-down triangle, and choose "Go to Quick Fix." The Quick Fix window looks like a stripped-down version of the Standard Editor
The Quick Fix window. If
you have several photos
open when you come
into the Quick Fix
window, you can use the
Photo Bin to
choose the one you want
to edit. Just click a
thumbnail at the bottom
of your screen, and that
photo becomes the active
image, the one you see in
the Quick Fix preview
area in the center of your
screen.
The Quick Fix Toolbox
The Toolbox holds an easy-to-navigate subset of the larger tool collection you'll find in the Standard Edit window. All the tools work the same way in both modes, and you can also use the same keystrokes to switch tools here. From top to bottom, the Quick Fix Toolbox holds:
The Zoom tool lets you telescope in and out on your image so that you can get
a good close look at details or pull back to see the whole photo. (See page 64 for
more on how the Zoom tool works.) You can also zoom by using the Zoom
pull-down menu below the image preview area.
The Hand tool helps move your photo around in the image window -- just like
grabbing it and moving it with your own hand.
The Magic Selection Brush tool is new in Elements 4. It lets you apply Quick
Fix commands to a part of your image only. The regular Elements Selection
brush is also available in Quick Fix now. To get to the Selection brush, in the
Toolbox, just click and hold on the Magic Selection brush icon, or click its icon
in the Options bar when the Magic Selection brush is active. The difference
between the two tools is that the Selection brush lets you paint a selection
exactly where you want it (or mask out part of your photo to keep it from getting
changed), while the Magic Selection brush makes Elements figure out the
boundaries of your selection based on your much less precise marks on the
image. The Magic Selection brush is much more automatic than the regular
Selection brush.
The Crop tool lets you change the size and shape of your photo, by cutting off
the areas you don't want.
The Red Eye tool makes it a snap to fix those horrible red eyes you see in flash
photos.
CONTINUES WITH : The Quick Fix Control Panel
Photoshop Elements 4: The Missing Manual
by Barbara Brundage -- Author Barbara Brundage has written the perfect digital photography guide. In a clear, easy-to-read format, the author provides step-by-step instruction so readers can learn what they need to do to edit their photos successfully and manage their collection. This new edition also includes more than a dozen downloadable images so readers can practice using the editing tools. Readers will master useful editing techniques--from the most common to the advanced
If you haven't gotten it yet, 
Photoshop Elements 4 for Mac, or Photoshop Elements 4 for Windows can be had for under 100-bucks, and previous owners can upgrade for $69.99, or less if you find one of those piggy-back deals that are plentiful on the web. Or, get Adobe Photoshop Elements 5 for Windows
Most everything else is basically the same with a few new menu items or keystrokes here and there. The big news is the latest
100 tools for Elements
This book includes a CD that has the 100 tools from the Hidden Power set that can save you 100 steps at a click. The book organization has been overhauled to reflect the elements workflow so you can follow along to take an image from RAW to finished. The book is longer, contains more tools, and the price has dropped more than $10. Get it for only $19.99 on Amazon
If you'd like to know how to do something in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, just ask
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