Selective Editing, anyone?

[wiggleroom]

Hoping someone knows how to selectively edit in 4.0. I've adjusted levels already (brightness, contrast) and my photo looks great on the computer screen. But when printed, some areas are too dark and others are too blown out and light. I'm also wondering if it is possible to change the color of one small section of a photograph. I tried drawing around it with the lasso, but couldn't figure out what to do next. I've printed two copies. On one the front is perfect but the background is too dark. On the other, the background is perfect but the front is blown out. Wish I could merge them!

Thank you for listening. :)

[ljameso1]

Once you've got the area selected do command/control+J to move it to it's own layer and do adjustments there. Re printing are you remembering to turn off color management in the print screen so the computer dictates rather than the printer? Also, do you have the correct drivers from the paper manufacturer for your printer?

[wiggleroom]

Thank you for your advice, ljameso1. I didn't realize I had to select the area and put it on a separate layer first. I'll try that. I could use more help with the other part, though. Turning off color management is not something I had thought of. Someone gave me a printer that is much harder to use than my old HP. It's the Epson Stylus Photo R1800. I keep having trouble getting the color to turn out right. Even when I get the preview to look right on the screen, the print doesn't match the preview. I have been blindly trying all different kinds of settings (for color, not paper, paper is easy to select) and I'm tired of wasting paper and ink and time. But the user's guides don't seem to help, so I've turned here. Anyone out there who can share info on color matching between the printer and the computer? Like I said, it always prints accurate color to the cheap HP (using HP paper) but not to the Epson (using Epson paper). And that's crazy. I've been told the Epson is a much better printer for art and photography, but I've yet to see the results and their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. I don't want to learn how to write the computer code, I just want to use the damn thing!

[Codebreaker]

Printing can be a tricky subject. Even before trying to get a decent print you should really be calibrating and profiling your display so that you know you are correcting image problems and not display problems. For instance how do you know your display is not set too bright or too dark.

Take a look at the Tech Tips in the link below and it will lead you through how to print using Photoshop. It may mention PS CS or PSE 3 but the principals are the same for whatever version.

http://tech.epson.com.au/downloads/message.asp?platform=&techtips=techtips&EmailAdd=&MetricIDReturned=1783363&submit=Search+%3E%3E&sCategory=Inkjet&id=stylusphotor1800

Colin

[wiggleroom]

Thanks, Colin. I'll try that.