Article: Basic Guide to Photoshop Elements 3 Tools

When you open up Photoshop for the very first time, it can be really intimidating. The first step is to learn where all the tools are and what each one can do. Here is a list of the basic PSE3 tool bar and what you can do with each one. For each of these tools, a separate tool bar of options will appear at the top. Experiment with the different options to see what they do. If there is a small black arrow in the right hand corner, it means there are different types of this tool. This is the default Photoshop Elements 3 toolbar, from top to bottom:

	This is the “Move Tool” and it does just that. Always click on this tool when you want to move something around or resize it. When this tool is selected, a box will appear around your layer. The options for this are “Auto Select Layer,” which if this is on, whatever you click on will be automatically selected and “Show Bounding Box,” which if this is turned off, you won’t see the resizing box when you have the move tool selected.
	This is the “Zoom Tool.” When it is selected, you can click and drag a box around any part of your layout and it will zoom in. Main options include zooming and zooming out and what percentage you’d like to zoom in or out.
	The “Hand Tool” allows you to simply move your layers around.
	The “Eyedropper” tool is my favorite. This is what you would use if you want to match elements or backgrounds to your photos. You can use this tool to pick up any color that you want to use. The sample size tells the dropper how large you want your sample to be. If you are pulling color from a large area, you can use a larger sample size, but if the color you want is only a small area, use the Point Sample option.
Selecting Tools:
	The “Marquee” tool is used to make selections. You can use it to draw a shape and then fill it with color or if you want to move around just a part of your layer. When selecting something with the marquee tool, if you leave the tool selected, you will only move around the shape you just drew. If you chose the Move Tool after you make your selection, that part of the selected layer will move with you. Options include rectangle or oval and feathering amount (this will blur the edges of your selection the amount of pixels you choose). To add another selection, hold down the shift key while selecting, to subtract, hold down the Alt key.
	The “Lasso” tool is another way to make selections, but allows you to be more precise. There are different options to use, depending on how detailed you want your selection to be. The first one, “Lasso” allows you to make a selection freehand. The “Magnetic” lasso is very handy when extraction things from photos. As you hold your mouse down and “draw” around an object, it will cling to the object. This only works well if the object is a different color from the background. The lasso clings to similar colors, so it can get a bit frustrating. The last option, “Polygonal” will create straight lines, so you can use this to make shapes with straight sides. You can also choose the feathering amount with the Lasso tool.
	The “Magic Wand” is used to select certain parts of a photo or item that are similar in color. For instance, if you have a subject wearing a yellow shirt and you want to change the color of the shirt, you can use the Magic Wand to select the shirt and all the yellow area around it will become selected. This tool isn’t always very precise because it picks up all colors that are similar. You can change the tolerance to make it a bit more selective.
	The “Selection Brush” will make selections using whatever brush you choose. For example, you can choose a brush shaped like a star and stamp it in a few places then hit Delete. All areas that were selected by this brush will be deleted. Options include brush shape and size.
	This is the “Type” or “Text” tool. When selected, click where you want your text to be and start typing. Common options allow you to choose vertical or horizontal text, font style, size, format (left aligned, centered or right aligned), color and if you want a style such as a drop shadow applied. Other options include “Type Masks” which will make selections in the shape of the font you choose and set the leading allows you to choose the spacing between lines of text.
	This is the “Crop” tool which allows you to crop a photo in a square or rectangular shape. Options allow you to set the size before cropping.
	The “Cookie Cutter” tool allows you to crop a photo into a shape. There are lots of Custom Shapes that come with Photoshop Elements. You can also set the feathering on these. This is great for cutting out heart shaped photos or any other shape you like.
	This is the “Red Eye” correction tool and it quickly and easily corrects red eye in photos. Simply drag the rectangle around the eyes and red eye is gone!
	The “Healing” tool is great for touching up photos. The “Spot Healing” tool will fix tiny spots like blemishes on faces. The regular “Healing” tool can fix larger areas but you’ll have to choose an area for it to copy first. Hold down Alt and click a similar area. The tool will use this area as a color guide when fixing problems. You can choose brush sizes and whether you want a pattern in the spots that you heal.
	The “Stamp” tool has two different options. The “Clone Stamp” can also be used for fixing photos. It will copy an area that you select to any other area that you click on. For example, if you have a photo of the sky and there’s a telephone pole in it, you hold ALT and click on an area of the sky, then click on the telephone pole and a portion of the sky will cover up the pole. The “Pattern Stamp” allows you to draw using a pattern of your choosing.
Drawing and Painting:
	The “Pencil” is just a drawing tool and works the same as the “Brush”. Options include size and opacity. You can also use different Brushes to get different shapes.
	The “Eraser” is just that, an eraser. It will erase the selected layer that you are working on and also uses Brushes so you can erase in different shapes and patterns. The “Magic Eraser” will erase whole portions of the same or similar color area with one click.
	The “Brush” tool is used for drawing or painting. You can uses brushes of any shape and size and can download all kinds off of the Internet to get shabby or grungy effects. The “Impressionist” brush blurs things to give them a painted look. The “Color Replacement” brush will color over areas of a photo, but leave the details showing. This is really cool for changing the colors of clothes or hair. You can paint right over the original hair and still see the hair underneath!
	The “Paint Bucket” is used to fill large areas with color. You can choose foreground color (on top) or pattern. You can also set the opacity and tolerance. Tolerance will tell the tool just how similar in color areas should be.
	The “Gradient” tool works just like the Paint Bucket, but it will fill an area with a gradient. Options include type of gradient, shape of gradient and opacity.
	This is the “Custom Shape” tool and it may look different depending on what its set on. It may be a rectangle or a circular shape. Custom Shapes can also be downloaded from the Internet and work much like the Cookie Cutter, except it won’t crop. A shape will be drawn in the color selected. Once you draw your shape, click “Simplify” to get rid of the border around it. Custom Shape options include all kinds of different shapes including fun things like hearts, arrows and frames. Experiment with all the different options.
	This is the “Blur,” “Sharpen,” or “Smudge,” tool depending on the setting. Each of them does exactly what they say to photos or other areas clicked on. You can also use Brushes with these tools.
	This is the “Sponge,” “Dodge,” or “Burn” tool. The Sponge tool will either desaturate or saturate and area with color. This means the color will be dulled or intensified. The Dodge tool lightens areas to create a highlighted area. This is good for giving dimension to elements because it looks like an area of reflected light. The Burn tool is the opposite of Dodge, it will darken areas, creating shadows. You can also use brushes with these and there are lots of options to experiment with.