Introduction

You’re probably used to hearing about how digital photography has made
things so much easier and extended the boundaries of what it’s possible to
achieve with a camera. Although this is undoubtedly true, there are times
when it all seems to have become a lot more complicated. What do you do
with thousands of photos scattered among an assortment of hard drives,
CDs, DVDs, and memory cards? Why do photos of scenes that looked
stunning at the time often appear a bit lackluster? And why do printed
photos often look nothing like what you see on screen?

If you’re looking for answers to questions like these, then PaintShop Pro X4
has the tools you need, and PaintShop Pro X4 for Photographers will show you
how to get the most from them with real-world examples and step-by-step
projects.

Possibly you already have PaintShop Pro X4, have experimented a little, but
want to learn more about how it works and how you can use it to organize
and edit your photos. One of PaintShop Pro’s great strengths is that it’s really
easy to use but also has a raft of powerful advanced editing tools. In this
book I’ve tried to reflect that approach, and after a thorough introduction
covering the basics I move on to look at some intermediate projects
including basic retouching, then I graduate to more advanced techniques
using selections, layers, masking, and special effects. I also look at working
with camera RAW files so, if you have a DSLR or advanced compact that can
shoot RAW, you’ll learn what the benefits and downsides are and how to go
about it.

In PaintShop Pro X4 for Photographers, I’ve tried to do much more than simply
explain how PaintShop Pro X4 works. In each of the chapters, I’ve taken
a practical approach to demonstrating tools and techniques so that you can
learn how to use the program to do the things you want with your own
digital photos. At the end of each chapter you’ll find a series of step-by-step
projects that demonstrate many of the techniques covered.

This is the sixth edition of PaintShop Pro for Photographers I’ve written.
In each edition I’ve covered new features, introduced new projects that use
them, and updated existing projects to work with the latest version. This
means that as well as being up to date, this is a book you can use with older
versions of the program. If you’ve got PaintShop Pro 9, X, X1, X2, or X3, there’s
plenty you’ll still find useful.

With so many opportunities to take, edit, and share pictures, it’s an exciting
time to be involved in photography. I hope you’ll find PaintShop Pro X4 for
Photographers a useful, informative, and enjoyable guide.