Home » Photoshop Resources » 10 Things You Could be Using Photoshop for, But Probably Are not

10 Things You Could be Using Photoshop for, But Probably Are not

July 9th, 2008 Photoshop Resources

Most public don’t use Photoshop to its fullest capabilities. Here are just ten uses to which you could place this highly versatile software. Even a simple domestic use of Photoshop in your leisure time can do wonders, and let’s see how..

1. Restoring Ancient Photographs. Have a look through that ancient family tree photo album – the really ancient one from up in Grandma’s attic. Inside there are probably a few photos from way back when that haven’t stood the test of time so well. They’ve got cracks and tears that really spoil their appearance. Scan them into Photoshop, and then set to work with the Clone Stamp, Healing Brush, and Patch tools. The Healing Brush in particular is a fantastic tool for this purpose as it samples data from one part of the picture and blends it in with what’s by now there.

2. Correcting Mistakes. We’ve all done it: Had an attack of “finger over the lens syndrome,” or got too close with the flash, so our subjects suffer from “red eye” and look like extras from a horror movie. Use the crop tool to salvage something usable from your obscured photo, and the enlarge wizard to blow it up to a reasonable size. For “red eye” and “pet eye,” use the eyedropper tool to sample affect from around the iris, and a brush to paint away the red. See also my “Pure Glamor” tutorial.

3. Adding Graphics to Videos. It’s a small known fact, but many domestic and professional nonlinear editing systems (especially the Mac based ones like Avid or Final Cut) enable you to import Photoshop .psd files directly into the timeline.

4. Making Text Effects for Print and Web. There’s an nearly boundless amount of things you can do with text in Photoshop. Use the Type Mask Tools to make picture to the top text, then upload the results to your web page – or print them out for a one of a kind T-shirt.

5. Turning a Photo Into a Work of Art. Everyone likes to have nice things to look at. Most of us like to have pictures on the wall, and something that looks different from what additional public have on their walls is a settled plus. Unless you’re blessed with artistic talent, though, this can be very expensive – until now. Use one of Photoshop’s many Artistic or Brush Stroke filters to turn your photos into “new masters,” then print them out on quality art paper. You can see some of my fantasy art tutorials for further reference: “Sleeping Sun“, “Renaissance Canvas“, “Glowing Monsters eyes“, “Mysterious Moonlit“.

6. Designing Web Banners and Buttons. Photoshop comes with a predefined web banner sized canvas. Photoshop’s sister application, Image Ready, comes with several – and lots of tools for animating text and pictures. You can also make interactive buttons that enhance a web browsing experience.

7. Adding Text to Photographs. Impress your boss by putting the company name on the side of an airliner, building, or racing car. Use the Go Tool to skew the text to fit the contours of the picture, adjust the cloudiness a small, and hey presto! The text will look like it’s always been part of the photo.

8. Combining Pictures, Text, and Graphics to Make Covers for Books, Reports and CDs. Photoshop contains many of the image manipulation capabilities of high-end DTP applications that cost thousands. Use the “Layer via Cut” command to make your title text go behind part of the picture – just like on the cover of “Rolling Stone.”

9. Designing Web Pages. Did you know that Photoshop and Image Ready can turn your photograph or artwork into a web page? Use the slice tool to cut your work into easily downloadable pieces, then the rollover function to embed website URLs.

10. Combining Pictures to Make the Impossible Possible. Come on! You didn’t seriously reckon that Michael Moore and President George W. Bush really stood hand in hand on the White House lawn for the Fahrenheit 9/11 poster, did you? I don’t know for certain that they used Photoshop to fake that picture, but they certainly could have done. With Photoshop you can remove the background from one picture, take some elements from another, and combine them with the background from a third to make a picture that could never have been full for real. Who says the camera can’t lie!

Instigator: Shaun Pearce