Photoshop Fundamentals

Open or create a file in Photoshop, explore the start screen, toolbox, and panels, then view history, layers, and paths, use info panel, and adjust opacity, flow, and size.

Explore how layers in Photoshop enable flexible editing, overlaying parts while keeping other layers untouched, with the eye icon showing visibility and inactive states.

Unlock the default background layer by clicking the padlock in the layer panel to edit, or set a new base layer using Layer > New > Background from Layer.

Master free transform in photoshop to resize and rotate layers, using the edit menu or keyboard shortcut; hold shift to preserve proportions, and press enter to apply.

Learn how to create and refine selections in Photoshop using the marquee tool, adjust with add and subtract, invert selections, and deselect to isolate edits.

Master manual selection in Photoshop by using the lasso and marquee tools to add or remove areas, refine picks, and quickly isolate parts of images for precise editing.

Use the quick selection tool to automatically select image areas by following borders and contrast. It learns on the go, and you can add or remove areas as needed.

Use the crop tool to remove unwanted parts, straighten perspectives, and set a new composition, while keeping delete cropped pixels off to preserve the original image in background mode.

Learn to retouch images in Photoshop using the spot healing brush to remove blemishes and the healing brush for precise replacements. Use brush size shortcuts to speed up edits.

Learn to use the clone stamp tool to fill areas and remove unwanted objects by cloning from a source area, adjust brush size and hardness, then save the edited image.

Master content aware fill to remove large objects in Photoshop. Outline the area with the lasso tool and fill to replace it with surrounding content.

Learn to set and swap foreground and background colors with the color picker, adjust hue, saturation, and lightness, reset to defaults, and sample colors with the eyedropper.

Explore Photoshop brush fundamentals, compare round, square, and leaf brushes, and learn how hardness, size, opacity, and flow shape strokes; discover quick adjustments via right-click and bracket keys.

Learn how to revert to previous steps with the history brush in Photoshop, set the number of history states, and apply selective sharpening to specific areas.

Discover Photoshop blending modes and how brush color interacts with existing imagery, using soft light to merge colors for creative effects. Revert changes via history or file menu, and create a feathered selection with a 1–2 pixel radius before painting with your chosen color.

Resize photos in Photoshop to fit web spaces, shrinking to avoid blur, using image size to adjust width and height with ratio lock and resampling.

Explore the difference between canvas size and image size, and learn to add space around a photo in pixels using relative mode, side selection, and canvas color.

Learn to adjust exposure in Photoshop using the brightness and contrast tool, with manual sliders, preview before/after, and differences between legacy and new slider behavior across versions.

Explore how color affects perception and how to boost vibrancy with image adjustments. Use the vibrance and saturation sliders, noting that saturation is stronger while vibrance preserves natural skin tones.

Explore using the hue and saturation controls to flexibly adjust and replace colors in photos, selecting colors individually or with eyedroppers to modify vibrance, saturation, and brightness.

Explore artistic filters in Photoshop, use the filter gallery to adjust strength, and combine them on separate layers to create countless effects while preserving the original image.

Master common Photoshop filters, from blur and gaussian blur to unsharp mask, to emphasize subjects and sharpen details. Convert layers to smart objects to enable non-destructive, adjustable smart filters.

Discover adjustment layers in Photoshop that enable non-destructive, editable effects like black and white, affecting only lower layers, with a simple icon to create and a window to tweak.

Explore how to use layer blending options in Photoshop to colorize and blend colors, leveraging layer priorities to apply flexible, reversible effects for natural light images.

Master color-based selections in Photoshop using color range and sampled colors, refine with fuzziness, add or subtract with pipettes, and feather edges for clean composites.

Organize your Photoshop work environment by grouping layers, renaming them for clarity, and using layer visibility to preview edits, keeping large documents clean with the master group and subgroups.

Learn to reshape photos with Photoshop liquify filter using forward warp and face aware liquify to adjust facial features. Master brush size, strength, and masks to preserve and reset changes.

Master fine-tuning selections in Photoshop with the quick selection tool and select and mask, refine edges using brushes, and finalize a precise selection from overlay view.

Learn how to non-destructively edit images in Photoshop using masks to merge layers, switch white and black masks, invert with Ctrl+I, and recover edits.

Master the pen tool to create precise paths that become selections in Photoshop, using straight and curved segments, handles, and editing options to refine shapes and maintain image quality.

Learn to combine two images into one using Photoshop masks, with the pen tool for precise selections. Use black and white masks to reveal or hide layers for flexible edits.