Photoshop. Simplified.
Lesson #Eight

Bringing It All Together 

Creating a Watermark

Create a New Document by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+N

Set the Document Type to Default Photoshop Size (which is 5"x7") 
Set the Resolution to 300 ppi. (this stands for pixels per inch)
Change the Background Contents from White to Transparent
Click OK

Set the foreground color to white (or any color you want to make the text in your watermark). 

Select the Type Tool
In the Tool Options Panel choose your font and set your Font Size to 72 px. 

Click on the image then type out what you would like your watermark to read. You can double click on the text layer in the Layers Panel to add styles such as drop shadow or a stroke. 

In the Menu Options Panel, click File → Save As
Choose the Destination : Desktop
Name the file : Watermark
Save as type : .PNG
Click OK

Choose Compression : Smallest (slow)
Choose Interlaced : None
Click OK

Now you can simply drag the file from your desktop onto any image you wish to watermark in Photoshop. I generally suggest keeping watermarks small and turning the Opacity of watermark layer down between 20% and 50%. They should provide some way for people to know whose image it is, without being distracting to the viewer. 

Resizing Files

CROP

Once you have performed all the edits on your image to your liking, you need to size it appropriately to avoid any clipping (print) or compression (web). 

This is your last chance to do any cropping to your image.
If needed, select the Crop Tool.
In the Tool Options Panel, set the ratio of your crop. (Example : If you want to make an 8"x10" print, set the ration to 4:5. If you want to make a 30x40 print, set the ratio to 2:3)
Check "Delete Cropped Pixels".

Drag out your crop, using the Crop Tool.
You can fine tune your crop by using the corner or midpoints in the crop marquee. 
You can also move your crop around by hovering inside the crop marquee. 

IMAGE SIZE

To size your image, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+I. This will bring up the Image Size dialogue. Here you can set your image dimensions, resolution, and resampling (how Photoshop handles the compression or expansion of pixels). 

For printed images I suggest a resolution of 240 ppi-300 ppi.
For web use, I suggest a resolution of 96 ppi. 

Check "Resample". 
If your original image size is larger than your new image size, set the Resample option to "Bicubic Sharper (reduction)".
If your original image size is smaller than your new image size, set the Resample option to "Bicubic Preserve Details (enlargement)". 

File Formats

I suggest saving a high resolution .TIFF or .PSD for every file you edit. These are lossless file formats which means all the information is saved and no compression is applied. They will also maintain your layers, so if you need to go back and work on it again, you can. 

On the other hand, a .JPEG file has compression applied to it.  If someone orders a big print, enlarging a .TIFF or .PSD won't be an issue. If you try to enlarge a .JPEG much, you will lose image quality and may even see compression artifacts. .JPEG files will flatten the image. 

Once your image is properly sized, go to the Menu Panel and click File→Save As

If you are saving your image for print, generally save it as a .TIFF or .JPEG (depending on your printer).

If you are saving your image for the web, save it as a .JPEG or .PNG (depending on the website).
Save .JPEG files between Quality 10 to Quality 12

TIP : The optimal file size for a Facebook image upload is 2048 px on its widest side and saved as a .PNG. 

Your Assignment

Congratulations! You have completed the course. You can now have full control of your images with Photoshop. Edit a camera raw file of your own. Save one unedited. Then complete all steps to the lessons in Photoshop. Simplified. Save the files as .JPEGs then email both to Jason@jasonrweingart.com. Extra credit, send an edit of the file that was completed before you took the course. 

Got a question? Ask Jason using the form below.