Photoshop Elements 6 Scrapbooking This lesson will apply things you have learned to creating a digital scrapbook page. This lesson will use some digital scrapbooking elements downloaded from the Shabby Princess web site http://www.shabbyprincess.com/downloads.asp Photos Let s start with the photos for the scrapbook page. Download Paul_1 and Paul_2 from the ImagesforLessons folder on the lessons web site If necessary, enhance the images by adjusting their Levels 1 and sharpening them with the Unsharp Mask 2. When you are working with your own images, you also may need to make other improvements. Tighten the images up by cropping them so they look like the pictures below 3. Save the cropped images as PSD files with different names, maybe Paul_1_1 and Paul_2_1. 1 Lesson 2 Brightness and Contrast 2 Lesson 3 More Improvements 3 Lesson 1 First Steps and Lesson 4 Preparing an Image for Printing Lesson 6 Elements 6 Layers 1
The Background The obvious theme of this page will be glasses, which doesn t help much with the choice of background. The two pictures were taken at an Easter egg hunt, so we decide to choose a background that fits with the season: SP_Promise_Paper_Leaf, which was downloaded from the above-mentioned Shabby Princess web site. Open SP_Promise_Paper_Leaf.jpg and save it as a PSD file. If you look at this background s image size 4, you will see that it is 3600 x 3600. At 300 dpi, this will produce a 12 x 12 picture, perfect for a large scrapbook page. Resizing the Photos Open the two cropped photos and look at their image sizes. We want their resolution to match that of the background, so if their resolution is not 300 dpi, change the resolution with Resample image unchecked. The size of the cropped images will vary according to the way they were cropped. The sizes of the images after I cropped them for this lesson are shown below. Paul_1_1: 2000 x 2413 Paul_2_1: 2000 x 2589 Compared to the 3600 x 3600 size of the background, these are a little large. We can reduce their size later, though, so we will leave them as is. If the size of an image is extremely large compared to the page, for example a 3000 x 4000 image from a 12 Mpixel camera, you may want to reduce its size at this point 5. 4 Lesson 4 Preparing for Printing 5 Lesson 3 More Improvements Lesson 6 Elements 6 Layers 2
Placing the Photos on the Page Open the cropped photo Paul_1_1 and select all of the image 6. Copy the selection and paste it on the background 7. Do the same with the second cropped photo. Save the page as a PSD file with the name GlassesPage_1. The two photos and too large to both fit on the page, so we need to reduce their size. Click on the Move Tool in the Toolbar. Select one of the photos by clicking on it and grab one of its corners. Pull the corner inward so the photo shrinks. When it is the size you desire, click on the green checkmark below the photo. Do the same for the second photo. Use Layer Styles to put a drop shadow behind both photos 8, which makes them appear to float on the page. When you have reduced the size of the two photos and added the drop shadows, position them roughly at two rule of thirds points 9 on the background. Save as GlassesPage_2.psd 6 Lesson 1 First Steps 7 Lesson 5 Selections and Paint Tools 8 Lesson 6 Layers 9 Lesson 1 First Steps Lesson 6 Elements 6 Layers 3
Adding Other Elements Open the image, SP_Promise_Flowers_Green_WITHshadow. Ensure that it is set at 300 dpi, select it, copy it, and paste it into GlassesPage_2. Click on the flower layer in GlassesPage_2, so that it has been selected. Click on Duplicate layer in the Layers menu. You will be asked if you want to create a duplicate layer. Click on OK. This will create a second flower layer directly above the first. If you pull the top flower away, you should see that there now are two identical flower layers. Repeat this process again and again until you have around 16 or 17 flower layers. Position them roughly as shown here. Arranging Layers We have positioned some of the flowers on top of the child s photo, which generally is not a good idea. Click on one photo of the child so that this layer is selected. Then choose Arrange, Bring to Front in the Layers menu. This will position the photo above the flower layers. Do the same with the second photo. Lesson 6 Elements 6 Layers 4
Erasing a Portion of a Layer Open the Sunglasses image, copy it, and paste it into your scrapbook page. You probably will find that it is too small. Pull out a corner to make the layer larger. Also rotate the corner of the layer to rotate the sunglasses picture. When you have done this, position the sunglasses so that the page looks something like the illustration on the right. You will notice that the sunglasses picture is surrounded by a white rectangle, which we need to remove. Click on the sunglasses layer to select it. Then click on the Magic Wand Selection Tool 10 in the toolbar. Set its Tolerance to 20 or 30. Click on the white section in the eyeglasses layer, which should select only the white portion of the layer. Pressing the Delete key on the keyboard should erase the white section. Note: You also can use the Erase Tool to erase the white portion of the layer 11. 10 Lesson 5 Selections 11 Lesson 6 Layers Lesson 6 Elements 6 Layers 5
Adding Text We now would like to add some text to complete the page. We want to match the color of the text to that of the page. One way of doing this is to choose a color that already is on the page. Select the Eyedropper Tool from the toolbar and use this tool to select the gold color of the sunglasses rim 12. Add the text Paul s Glasses to the image 13. I chose 72 pt Broadway font, with Anti-Alias on. Pull the corner of the text layer to make it larger. Give the text a drop shadow and rotate its corner so it is angled with respect to the page. When you are finished, your page should look something like this. Save the image as GlassesPage_3.psd. 12 Lesson 5 Selections 13 Lesson 6 Layers Lesson 6 Elements 6 Layers 6
Changing the Opacity of a Layer One final thing we can do is to slightly lower the opacity of the sunglasses layer so that the underlying flowers show through the lenses. Select the sunglasses layer with the Move Tool. Open the Layer Palette and lower the opacity of the layer to around 90%. 14 Flattening an Image In the Layers menu, flatten the image to collapse all the layers and decrease the size of the file. Save the image as GlassesPage_4.jpg. It now is ready to print. 14 Lesson 6 Layers Lesson 6 Elements 6 Layers 7