A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or
more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two
months apart.
All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons
are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have
to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until
the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each
lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such,
we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final
exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work,
including the final exam.
Week One
Wednesday - Lesson 01
Photoshop Elements 9 is an excellent program for photographers to enhance and edit digital images, and in this class, we'll move into the advanced features for photographers. In the first lesson, we'll dive into a workflow for digital editing. Photographers often wonder where to start when working with an image, so today, you'll get a good idea of the options available and a sequence to follow.
Friday - Lesson 02
In this lesson, we'll look at tools you can use to perfect portraits. Although you can use these tools to fine-tune any type of image, you'll find them especially helpful with the detail work associated with portraiture. You'll see how to smooth away wrinkles with the Surface Blur filter, remove red eye, and even turn gray hair brown! If only it were so easy in real life . . .
Week Two
Wednesday - Lesson 03
Distortion. It's not something you'd think would be desirable in photography, but with the options in Elements, you'll discover how distortion can help you work wonders! In this lesson, you'll see how to slim a waistline, trim loose edges, and accentuate the positive with distortion tools. You'll also find out how to correct an image by combining parts of two different photos, and you'll have a chance to get creative with the many brushes available in Elements.
Friday - Lesson 04
By this point, you'll be familiar with lots of the options Photoshop Elements provides for editing images. In this lesson, we'll turn to the task of restoring old and damaged photographs. You'll see how to turn back the effects of time as well as how to add hints of color to black-and-white images.
Week Three
Wednesday - Lesson 05
Many computer programs allow you to include clip art in your documents. But did you know that with Photoshop Elements, you can make your own? In today's lesson, you'll see how to extract small portions of a photograph without any surrounding border and how to use them in other images and documents. You'll also find some great ways to merge text and imagery to create outstanding photographic impressions.
Friday - Lesson 06
Editing your images isn't all about painstaking details and procedures. It can be a lot of fun, too! Photoshop Elements offers countless special effects, filters, and styles that you can use to show off your images. In this lesson, we'll explore how to add frames, backgrounds, clip art, and shapes to expand your creativity. You'll see how to sharpen and blur photos as well as how to salvage an image with these miraculous fixes!
Week Four
Wednesday - Lesson 07
Working with layers is one of the most powerful aspects of Photoshop Elements. In this lesson and the next, you'll see how layers work from beginning to end. You'll build a quickly modifiable business card and a collage as you learn how to use Adjustment and Fill layers to your advantage. You'll also put the Smart Brush tools to work with quick edits that leave you with stunning images.
Friday - Lesson 08
As we continue our discussion of layers in this lesson, you'll see how to add patterns, blend layers with colors and effects, and group them for great framing options using Elements tabbed windowing feature. Photoshop Elements with layers is like supercharging a race car—and you'll be in the driver's seat.
Week Five
Wednesday - Lesson 09
So far, we've done a lot with still photos, but in this lesson, we'll look at moving pictures. You'll see how to create an animated presentation from a sequence of images, and you'll have a chance to try out Photoshop Elements Flipbooks. And if that isn't enough, you'll also see how to create dazzling slide shows with special effects, text, and music to showcase your images.
Friday - Lesson 10
Having looked at how to create moving pictures, you'll see how to capture a frame from a video or movie clip in this lesson. We'll also discuss how to enlarge any image, correct vignettes, and create colored borders of many sizes and shapes around your work. Your friends and family will be impressed by the professional-looking enlargements you create!
Week Six
Wednesday - Lesson 11
Panoramics are a beautiful way to show off wide scenic shots. But did you know that you don't need a special camera or lens to get these shots? Today you'll see how the Photomerge feature in Elements helps you blend several photos to provide seamless panoramic imagery, as well as other Photomerge options. We'll also look at some quick options for resizing and watermarking groups of photos all at once, including Elements Recompose tool—an exciting feature with fast and easy results.
Friday - Lesson 12
Our last lesson will fill you in on a few remaining tools like the Cookie Cutter tool and the Shape tools, and you'll see how to use both to create more variations of clip art. You'll also work with a raw file and discover the benefits of working with these large, uncompressed files. You'll find yourself with lots of knowledge and hours of practice under your belt as you finish up this class on the advanced features of Photoshop Elements.