Our main focus was on non-destructive editing. Actually I did it before, just that I didn't realize it was called non-destructive editing. For example, since I'm using CS5, the adjustment layers that I usually create are on a separate layer. I've also read in a newspaper column somewhere (I can't really remember, it was probably at least a year ago) that another way of non-destructive editing is to copy the original image to another layer and edit from there. This is so that the original image can still be retrieved from the background layer.
Nevertheless, I became more sure of some editing techniques after the tutorial and also learned something new.
1. Layer mask: I used this before, but I've always thought it was kind of confusing, because I have to be sure of what should be on the top layer, and what I should erase using a black or white brush. However, after some practise in class, I think I became more confident and may use this in the future.
I would have copied the original image and changed it to black and white on the top layer, then use the eraser to create this effect instead of a layer mask.
The layer mask is much more effective though. For example, if I accidentally erased something wrongly, all I have to do is to change to a white brush and paint over the erased area. This mistake will be much more difficult to undo if I copied another layer to black and white and used the eraser tool. Although I can undo my steps, there is a limit of 20 steps in Photoshop. Hence I may not be able to restore the black and white image if I exceeded 20 steps, unless I copy the image again and edit from the start. If I used layer mask though, I don't have to worry about this limitation. By not having to duplicate images, the layer mask technique also reduces the file size of the Photoshop document.
In addition, I've also learned the shortcut "X" that allows me to change the background and foreground color, which makes life easier ;)
2. Smart objects: I think this was helpful as I didn't quite know what smart objects mean in Photoshop. I added images which were automatically converted to smart objects before, but I didn't know the significance. The class taught me that smart objects can be re-sized (especially from big to small, and to big again) without degrading image quality. I had this problem before, so I'm really grateful to smart objects =)
3. Refine edge: I've learned how to use the quick selection tool in NM3217 before, and I think it's better than magic wand tool (which sometimes leaves jagged edges around the selection) and magnetic lasso tool (which is more tedious) that I had learned back in polytechnic. Nevertheless, I still wonder how people manage to select tricky images such as those with hair and fur. This tutorial introduced me to the "Refine Edge" option under quick selection tool (I guess I didn't notice it or attempt to try it out before, though I've got CS5 for a year or so). By using edge detection and smart radius, I can adjust the settings to select the boy's hair easily, to rather good results. (The image of the boy is superimposed on that of the field.)
I'll definitely keep this in mind :) I also used layer mask and quick selection to change the color of the boy's shirt. This was a good idea I learned, as using the paint bucket to fill the selected area with black or white is more efficient as opposed to using a black or white brush.
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