feathering

[Joel Salomon]

Hi all,

I just purchased a copy of the Photoshop Elelments 2.0. I had Adobe Photo Deluxe program which came with my first scanner several years ago and had no problem figuring out how to do things without reading much of the book. On this program the first thing I have tried to do is feathering a picture border. I can select the area I want to feather but am lost after that. How do I execute the command? In the old program it worked pretty much automatically when I selected the area, I saw the feathered area almost immediatly from what i recall. I also don't recall having to deal with layers as much as this program. I am assuming that this current program is a newer program than the first Adobe program that I had yet seems more difficult to use.

Any comments or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Joel

[Beth Haney]

Once you have some experience using Elements, you'll see that you've almost moved to the level of full Photoshop. It's very powerful, but there is quite a learning curve.

There are others on the forum more adept at these things than me, but I'll give this a try.

Once you have your area selected (an outline of the darling "marching ants") go to Select>Feather. I haven't used it for a while, but I believe you will then get a screen where you can choose the amount of feathering, as measured in pixels.

Yes, layers were new to me when I moved to Elements, too, but I've found using them is fantastic. It's almost impossible to really mess up an image. Since you're a newcomer, I would like to pass along the sage advice on behalf of the forum regulars: Never work on an original!!! :) The use of layers can bail you out of sticky situations, but as time goes on and you learn more about the software, you may decide your original efforts were pretty amateurish and have the desire to start from scratch again. Good luck, and welcome to the forum!

[Joel Salomon]

Thanks for your suggestions and help. I've got a lot of reading and experimenting ahead of me I can see.

Joel

[Beth Haney]

Did you ever get your selection feathered? Once selected, go to Select>Feather. You'll get a screen in which you can choose the amount of feathering, as measured in pixels. Just remember that the lower the resolution of your image, the fewer pixels you'll want to select to achieve the desired results. Also, it's strongly recommended that a) you always work on a copy, not your original image, and b) to start developing the habit of working with layers. Good luck!

You'll really enjoy using Elements, and feel free to post your questions anytime. There are lots of very talented, creative, and knowledgeable people who are regulars here and generously share their "secrets" with us mortals. :)

[Schraven Robert]

Leen,

Sorry, didn't want to upset you or downgrade your professional qualities as I believe that no one questions these.

My dream job is that of librarian. It seems you don't have any repsonsibilities.
If a book isn't there you cannot be blamed and if it is there it's on the shelf.

Robert