Chapter Three. Working with Photoshop

There's no question that Photoshop is the crown jewel of the Creative Suite. Through the years, the venerable image-editing tool has become the definitive "killer app." Photoshop is used in so many different ways to accomplish so many different tasks. Graphic designers, digital photographers, and hobbyists can't get far without it. If you're serious about achieving the perfect image, chances are you're using Photoshop.

This powerful, versatile application can be daunting at times. Just when you think you have a handle on the application, a new version arrives with a whole slew of new features and changes. This makes it next to impossible to keep up with it all. A couple of new features are bound to sneak below your radar.

In this chapter, you'll find tips and techniques covering features new to Photoshop CS2 along with some lesser known or frequently overlooked features and tools that have been around for a few versions. In addition, many of the tips in this chapter also work in ImageReady, Photoshop's Web graphics-centric component. Now let's dive deeper into the suite, starting with this image-editing powerhouse and see just what it's capable of.