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Old 06-09-2007, 10:43 AM   #1
Andrew B.
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Default Photoshop CS3 Demo

I finally got around to doing a quick test of the Photoshop CS3 demo. I think I'll be upgrading this time. Here's what I like.

Quick Select (new). I do most of my selections by painting in the mask using Quick Mask mode, then carefully refining the edge. The new Quick Select makes the first step so much easier I see it as a major enhancement. I also think I remember seeing this tool in Photoshop Elements years ago.

This tool is not for advanced selection. Don’t expect to isolate hair or smoke. It is only for making rough or easy selections. But this is how most selections begin.

The Curves feature is easier to use. The histogram is superimposed on the Curves interface, and there are sliders to help the user line up the black and white points in relation to the histogram. So no need to feel guilty doing the end points in a Levels adjustment layer <g>, even though it is easier there. Plus, when Channel is set to combined RGB, it also shows the curves for the individual R, G, and B channels. With this, there is no need to check every channel to be reminded of what you did. And, you can turn either of these features off.

Clone Source (new). This feature provides the ability to preview the source of a clone directly over the target spot by superimposing semi-transparent version of the source. It also allows you to rotate and size the source as it is applied to the target.

This feature seemed like a gimmick to me at first, but I changed my mind. There are many photos where I need to copy a pattern from one part of the picture to another and make it look like it is not a copy. Using a clone tool that can rotate and skew makes this a lot easier. This feature can also be useful if the source is too large or too small and you need to scale the result to fit in with its new surroundings.

Smart Filters. I was disappointed with the lack of live preview in the Smart Filter feature. IOW, if you adjust one of the filters in a Smart Filters group, the cumulative result is not previewed during the adjustment. But, I found something to like in Smart Filters. I often use a Gaussian Blur layer as part of a layer stack that interacts using blending modes. If I set up the Gaussian Blur layer as a Smart Filter, I can change it as needed.

Anyway, I know I brushed by some of this so fast it could be confusing to anyone who is not familiar with these features. So if you are curious about any of this, you can view some excellent demos of these features on Russel Brown’s tips page.

http://www.russellbrown.com/tips_tech.html
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