Adobe Photoshop CS6 Top 100 Simplified Tips and Tricks by Lynette Kent

SCALE AN IMAGE without distorting the subject
When you scale an image to make it fit a different
aspect ratio, all the pixels in the image are affected
and stretched uniformly. Although distorting a sky or
a grassy field when adjusting an image to improve
composition or fit a layout may not be noticeable, you
cannot easily scale images with people or
recognizable objects.
Photoshop includes the Content-Aware scaling feature
so you can more easily upscale or downscale an
image, or even change its orientation, without
distorting the main subject.
You can stretch a sky, increase the length of a wall,
and expand the area around the main visual content
and keep a natural aspect ratio to some areas while
adapting the image to a new aspect ratio. For
example, you can expand the sky in a photograph to
extend upward for a magazine cover layout to allow
room for the title text, without distorting the items or
people in the foreground. You can also reduce the
width or height of an image while maintaining the
proportions of the main subject.
Depending on the image, Content-Aware scaling may
require creating a selection or repositioning reference
points around which to stretch the image.
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1 Create a new blank document
with the desired final dimensions.
Note: The amount the photo can
stretch or shrink depends on the
content in the photo. In this
example the photo is 7.7 × 4
inches and the new document is
6.5 × 4.
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2
2 Open an image.
3 Click and drag the image over
the tab for the blank document.
The image appears as a layer on
the blank document.
4 Close the moved image.
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5 Click the Lasso tool.
6 Click and drag around the
content to protect.
7 Click the Channels tab.
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6
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7
A
8 Click the Layer Mask button to
save the selection as a channel.
A The selection is saved as Alpha 1.
9 Press Ô+D (Ctrl+D) to deselect.
0 Click Edit.
! Click Content-Aware Scale.
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