Photoshop Basics
Photoshop Basics
What is Photoshop?
Adobe Photoshop is an extremely powerful digital imaging application that's used by photographers and designers. You can use Photoshop for almost any type of image editing, from touching up photos to creating high-quality graphics.
History of Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop was originally developed in 1987 by the brothers John and Thomas Knoll. Since its original development, Photoshop has evolved from a simple image editing tool to a comprehensive suite for image manipulation. While early versions of Photoshop were produced and distributed by the Knoll brothers, the software was acquired by Adobe Systems and became Adobe Photoshop.
The earliest version of the software released by Adobe came in February 1990. It allowed users to display and save files in multiple formats on early MacOS computers. Users could also adjust the hue, balance, and color saturation of images. There were minimal painting capabilities, as well as soft edge selections. With each new version of Adobe Photoshop released, it added a multitude of new features; Each version rapidly become more comprehensive than the last.
Buying Photoshop
Unlike many other applications now-a-days you may have used, you cannot buy a boxed copy of Photoshop CC. Instead, you'll need a subscription plan through Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe's cloud-based software service. Then, you'll download Photoshop CC to your computer. You'll also receive the newest version of Photoshop whenever it's made available, so you'll never have to worry about upgrading to the most recent version.
Students can sign-up using their university email and receive over 60% off the monthly subscription. To be able to access all Adobe applications, the Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription is $19.99 a month.
There is a Photography plan for $9.99 a month for individuals. This would only include Photoshop and Lightroom. If you are interested in learning a little bit of Illustrator, I do not recommend this plan.
You can purchase an Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription here: https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html Links to an external site.
Photoshop Alternatives
While Photoshop is an extremely powerful application, it also can get expensive. Fortunately, there are some free and low-cost applications that include tools like those found in Photoshop. Keep in mind that none of these applications will include all of the features found in Photoshop. While you may be able to use one of these applications to follow along with the rest of this semester, it's important to note that many of the features covered may be missing or work in a different way.
GIMP
Designed as an open-source alternative to Photoshop, GIMP is free to use on both Windows and Mac. Although it's a powerful application, you may find the interface confusing and difficult to use if you aren't somewhat familiar with other image editing software.
You can download GIMP here: https://www.gimp.org/ Links to an external site.
Links to an external site.You can find helpful GIMP tutorials here: https://www.gimp.org/tutorials/ Links to an external site.
Photopea
Designed to be an advanced editor with pro tools, Photopea bears a distinct resemblance to Photoshop and features most of the tools you'll need for everyday image work.
Platform: Web
Price: Free, Premium from $9 per 30 days
https://www.photopea.com/ Links to an external site.
Photoshop Interface
Photoshop is a complex application, and it can feel a bit intimidating to use at first. There's lots that we can do with Photoshop, and over the years, Photoshop has grown into a massive program. But the interface itself is actually quite simple. In fact, there's really only a handful of sections we need to know about.
The Document Window
The Document window is the large area in the center of the interface where the image is displayed. It's also where we edit the image. The actual area where the image is visible is known as the canvas. The dark area surrounding the image is the pasteboard. The pasteboard doesn't really serve a purpose other than to fill in the space around the image when the image itself is too small to fill the entire Document window.
The Document Tab
At the top of the Document window is the document's tab. The tab displays the name and file type of the document and its current zoom level. The tab is also how we switch between document windows when we have more than one image open in Photoshop. It’s similar to using tabs on a web browser.
The Zoom Level And Status Bar
In the bottom left of the Document window, we find more information about the image. The current zoom level is displayed, just like it is in the document's tab. And to the right of the zoom level is the Status Bar. By default, the Status Bar displays the color profile of the image.
Click and hold on the Status Bar to view additional information about the image, like its Width and Height, Resolution, and color information.
You can also change the type of information that the Status Bar displays. Click on the arrow on the right of the Status Bar to open a menu where you can choose to view different details, like Document Sizes (the file size) or Dimensions (the width, height and resolution).
The Toolbar
The Toolbar (also known as the Toolbox or the Tools panel) is where Photoshop holds all of its tools. You'll find it along the left of Photoshop's interface.
We will learn more about The Toolbar later!
The Options Bar
Directly linked to the Toolbar is Photoshop's Options Bar. The Options Bar displays options for whichever tool we've selected in the Toolbar. You'll find the Options Bar along the top of the interface, just above the document window.
The Menu Bar
Along the very top of Photoshop's interface is the Menu Bar. The Menu Bar is where we find various options and commands, all grouped into categories.
The File menu, for example, holds options for opening, saving and closing documents. The Layer menu lists options for working with layers. Photoshop's many filters are found under the Filter menu, and so on.
Note that the "Photoshop CC" category on the left of the Menu Bar in the screenshot is only found in the Mac version of Photoshop
The Panels
Along the right of Photoshop's interface is where we find the panels. Panels give us access to all sorts of commands and options, and there are different panels for different tasks. The most important panel is the Layers panel. It's where we add, delete and work with layers in our document.
We will learn more about Panels and Layers later!
The Search Bar
New in Photoshop CC is the Search bar. The Search bar lets us quickly find tools or commands in Photoshop, as well as tutorials on different topics, or images from Adobe Stock.
To use the Search feature, click on the Search icon (the magnifying glass) in the upper right of Photoshop. You'll find it just above the panel column. If you're using Photoshop CC but you're not seeing the Search icon, make sure your copy of Photoshop is up to date.
Workspaces
A workspace in Photoshop is a preset collection and arrangement of the various interface elements. Workspaces can control which of Photoshop's panels are displayed on the screen, along with how those panels are arranged.
A workspace can change the layout of the tools in the Toolbar. Items in the Menu Bar, along with keyboard shortcuts, can also be customized as part of a workspace.
By default, Photoshop uses a workspace known as Essentials. The Essentials workspace is a general, all-purpose workspace, with an interface layout that's suitable for many different types of tasks. But there are other workspaces to choose from as well. We can switch between workspaces using the Workspace option in the upper right of Photoshop.
Starting a Document
There are 2 ways you can start a document in Photoshop. You can either open a file and start from there or create a new blank document.
Opening files
Sometimes, you'll want to start by opening an existing photo rather than creating a new blank image.
To Open a File:
1. Select File (Menu Bar) > Open
2. A dialog box will appear. Locate and select the file on your computer, then click Open.
3. The file will appear in Photoshop.
Creating a New Blank Document
Creating a new blank document is like prepping your canvas for paint. There are many options when creating a new document, but thankfully there are presets built in so there is no guess work when getting started.
To Create a New Document:
1. Select File (Menu Bar) > New
2. A dialog box will appear.
3. Along the right side of the dialog box you will find the Preset Details. This is where you can input the Width and Height of your new document, as well as setting the orientation, the resolution, color mode, and more.
4. The top of the dialog box will have a list of different preset categories. Sometimes, it’s easiest to start with a size that you are familiar with such as a letter size print paper or 5x7 photo.
5. Once you have put in your details OR selected a preset, click Create.
6. The new blank document with the determined details will appear.
Understanding Layers
What are Layers?
You can think of layers as transparent panes of glass stacked on top of one another, which allow different parts of each layer to show through.
There are several types of layers you'll use in Photoshop, and they fall into two main categories:
Content layers: These layers contain different types of content, like photographs, text, and shapes.
Adjustment layers: These layers allow you to apply adjustments to the layers below them, like saturation or brightness. We will go over adjustment layers later!
When using layers, it may be helpful to turn individual layers on and off to see how they affect the image. You can do this by clicking the eye icon next to each layer name.
Why use layers?
Layers give you an amazing amount of flexibility and control because you can edit each layer independently from the rest of the image. Once you become comfortable with layers, you'll use them all the time.
We will learn more about Layers in Toolbar and Panels!
Saving your Work
As you’re working in Photoshop, it is good practice to save your progress along the way. To do this, you would:
1. Select File (Menu Bar) > Save As.
2. A dialog box will appear.
3. Locate a safe location for your file on your computer.
4. Set the Format to Photoshop (PSD).
5. Click Save at the bottom of the dialog box.
If you are done with a project, you can save the final as a multitude of different file types using similar steps. We will learn more about the different file types later!
To save final work:
1. Select File (Menu Bar) > Save As.
2. A dialog box will appear.
3. Locate a safe location for your file on your computer.
4. Set the Format to one of the Image File Types (JPG/PNG/TIFF/etc).
5. Click Save at the bottom of the dialog box.