Some general tutorials
http://graphicssoft.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arraich.com%2Fps6_tips_basics1.htm
and resources from Adobe
http://www.adobe.co.uk/products/photoshop/training.html
and links to more tutorials than you will ever need at
http://dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Graphics/Image_Editing/Photoshop/Help_and_Tutorials/

Here are my fav 12 functions. They were written for PhotoShop 6, but PhotoShop Elements works just about the same way. There may be slight variations in the menu locations:

1) Layers - Photoshop allows you to build and edit an image in layers, but when you want to copy/paste or save the image, you may need to flatten the image down to one layer. Choose Image; Flatten Layers if you try a function and PhotoShop balks.

2) Magnify - to zoom in or out of your image, click on the magnifying glass icon in the tool palette, then click on the image. To zoom out (see smaller image) hold the Alt key, then click.  Or right click on an image and choose Zoom In or Zoom Out.

3) Resizing - to physically resize an image, choose Image: Image Size. Chose to resize by percent or pixel. If the "Constrain" box is checked, changing the width will automatically adjust the height.

4) Brightness/Contrast - to lighten or darken an image or make darks darker and lights lighter, choose Image: Adjust Brightness/Contrast.

5) Rotate - image upside down, or not quite straight? Choose Image: Rotate, then rotate 90 degerees, 180 degress, or in increments of 1/2 a percent or more.

6) Cropping - to cut away stuff around the edges that you don't want. Choose the cropping tool from the tool palette , then draw a box around the are you want to keep. Click twice inside that box.

7) Cut/copy/paste - Flatten the image, the use the Marquee (Dotted line box) or lasso tool to draw around the area to be cut. Choose Edit: Cut, or Edit: Copy, then Edit Paste. Click the Move tool to grab and move the pasted area.

8) Erase, paint, and pencil tools can be used to draw over or delete areas. Just be sure you have chosen the tool color and background color before doing this.
See: http://graphicssoft.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arraich.com%2Fps6_tips_basics1.htm

9) Magic Wand - a super tool for choosing contigous or even non-contiguous areas of the image for the purpose of changing colors, ligtening/darkening specific areas, etc.
http://graphicssoft.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arraich.com%2Fps6_tips_basics1.htm

10) Sharpen - under Filter: Sharpen. Experiment with the settings or learn more about the sharpen tool at:
http://graphicssoft.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arraich.com%2Fps6_tips_basics1.htm

11) Image: Canvas Size - to make extra space in your image so you can add more. Example: make a white border on the bottom of a picture to add a text caption, add space to the side to indert another image, etc.
Choose image; Canvas Size, make the height or width larger, then choose where you want your original image to sit on the canvas (where you want the extra space to be added).

12) File: Save for Web - to see options for GIF and JPEG, and what effect choosing high/medium/low will have on your image quality and file size.

Have fun!

hope.greenberg@uvm.edu
08 January 2002/May 2002