The Everything Photoshop Masterclass

Discover composite photography and master Photoshop to craft vibrant, surreal scenes for commercial photography, inspired by Josh Rossi, Brook Shaden, and Erik Johansson.

Explore art growth by stealing from predecessors and rearranging it into your style, inspired by Austin Kleon. Work with provided photos, download them, and create your own image-based projects.

Learn to navigate Photoshop using the toolbar and panels, then master layers, blend modes, and layer masks while building a full composite image from shoot to edit.

Plan and sketch your composite in advance, then shoot and blend photos to create a two-sided image—happy and dull—with a car, fields, and dramatic clouds in Photoshop.

Plan and execute a multi-location shoot for a Photoshop composite, framing a model in a car and capturing bracketed exposures to blend clouds and sky for a vibrant final image.

Tour the Photoshop interface and learn to manage and arrange panels such as layers, colors, and libraries; resize, drag, and group panels, and use floating panels for a customizable workspace.

Explore the Photoshop toolbar by learning tool-by-tool how to select, crop, eyedropper color, and retouch with marquee, lasso, brush, healing, dodge, burn, and sponge tools.

Create, save, and switch custom workspaces in Photoshop. Keep essential panels like the Navigator panel, color panel, adjustments panel, layers, channels, and paths organized for photography and digital painting.

Explore essential Photoshop preferences, including general interface options, auto-save settings, performance memory usage, and scratch disk setup, to optimize workflow for photography and composite work.

Organize and rate photos in Lightroom with labels, flags, and star ratings to select the best images for a Photoshop composition, then import them for editing.

Open three photos in Photoshop, use Camera Raw to adjust white balance and exposure, lower whites and shadows, then merge the three documents into a single image using layers.

Learn to use the apply to layer technique in Photoshop to paint decorations on a new layer and constrain edits to specific shapes like a tree, cloud, or rainbow, non-destructively.

Create layer groups with the folder icon to organize layers, then move the group to adjust all inside while using an adjustment layer and normal blend mode to confine changes.

Explore layer styles in Photoshop to add depth with bevel and emboss, strokes, shadows, glows, overlays, and gradients; copy and apply styles across layers and groups, and explore blend modes.

Learn how Photoshop blend modes let a layer interact with the layer below, from normal to darken and lighten, using channels, luminance, hue, and saturation.

Master Photoshop blend modes across contrast, inversion, and color groups—overlay, soft/hard/vivid/linear/pin light, difference, hue, saturation, and luminosity—and apply them non-destructively with layers and opacity.

Learn to align multiple images in Photoshop by placing layers, using the difference blend mode to match details, and applying auto align or load files into stack for precise compositing.

Load sky images into a stack, align them, and apply overlay. Convert the result to a smart object to edit non-destructively and adjust opacity.

Master non-destructive editing in the Everything Photoshop Masterclass by using layer masks to reveal or conceal areas, painting with black or white and using checkerboard transparency.

Mask the area using a layer mask and paint black with zero hardness to reveal the bottom layer. Copy the mask to the above layer for an aligned composite.

Cut out the sky behind Krista, duplicate the layer, and convert the selection to a mask, then refine with select and mask and the refine edge brush.

Refine complex masks by using dodge and burn tools on layer masks, painting with white and black to sharpen borders and fix details like hair and car edges.

Refine composites using masking adjustment layers, paint and invert layer masks, and localize curve adjustments to specific areas like the sky and foreground for clean, seamless edits.

Master fine-tuning masks and adjustment layers to blend composites, sculpt skies and hills, refine edges with layer masks, dodge and burn for realism, and apply selective color adjustments.

Apply layer masks, blend modes, and select and mask techniques to create a Photoshop composite, then share your work in the class Facebook group for feedback and refinement.

Learn to add rain to a car windshield in Photoshop using masks and blend modes, combining rain layers with the base image through opacity, levels, layer masks, and clone stamping.

Crop the image to the right size in Photoshop and add texture overlays. Apply blending modes, layer masks, curves, vibrance, and export as JPEG.

Apply layer masks, blend modes, and select and mask techniques to craft your own Photoshop composite image, and share it in the Facebook group for constructive feedback.

Explore project two to learn the basics of retouching for a self-portrait, including healing skin, coordinating adjustments in Lightroom and Camera Raw, and preparing composites in Photoshop.

Master the brush tool in Photoshop by customizing size, hardness, opacity, and flow on a dedicated layer, and using shortcuts to swap foreground and background colors for precise retouching.

Load and customize brushes in Photoshop by downloading free and paid brush packs from Adobe, then load them, organize folders, and paint with impressionist brushes.

Master Photoshop skin retouching with the Spot Healing Brush tool and Healing Brush tool, using non-destructive edits on separate layers, sampling from current and below for natural results.

Learn to retouch skin in Photoshop using patch tool, healing brush, spot healing brush, and clone stamp tool on a copied layer to blend wrinkles, scars, and freckles.

Retouch a photograph by converting layers to a smart object, then apply healing brush and patch tool on separate layers to refine skin, blemishes, and imperfections while preserving the background.

Explore photoshop's liquify filter to reshape portraits with forward warp and face aware liquify. Edit non-destructively using smart filters and objects, and subtly adjust features like lips and eyes.

Explore adjustment layers in Photoshop to control brightness, contrast, levels, curves, exposure, vibrance, saturation, and hue, with clipping to the layer beneath, masking, and smart object workflows.

Learn to perform non-destructive dodge and burn using a 50% gray layer with overlay and soft light, targeting shadows, mid-tones, and highlights to subtly enhance facial features.

Apply smart filters in Photoshop using the filter gallery to preview textures and effects, using an 8-bit image and a smart object, then group adjustment layers for subtle results.

Take a well-lit self portrait, use the healing brush to adjust skin tone and background, liquify creatively, and apply vibrant adjustment layers before posting to the Facebook group.

Plan project three, shoot on a white backdrop, and compose a realistic underwater scene in Photoshop by matching color tones and making precise selections, even strands of hair.

Configure a studio shoot for compositing with fill and back lights for a pure white background, capture sequential shots including a tie and falling action, then stitch in Photoshop.

Import photos into Lightroom, filter with picks and rejects, refine exposure and white balance, then export PSDs for Photoshop compositing.

Build a six-image Photoshop composite by importing as layers, aligning with difference blend mode and warp, and refining edges with selection tools and masks.

Learn how to make precise selections in Photoshop using focus area and color range, refine edges with a smart radius, feather and shift edge, and create clean layer masks.

Learn to create precise selections with channels, using the blue channel for best contrast, convert it to a layer mask, and refine with select and mask and curves.

Master hair selection in Photoshop using blue channel masking, load selection, invert to create a layer mask, and refine with curves, dodge and burn, and edge adjustments.

Master precise hair selection in Photoshop by using channel masks, curves on masks, and refine with blur, dodge and burn, blending modes, and edge refinement for a natural composite.

Master the pen tool in Photoshop to create precise vector paths, save and reuse selections, adjust anchor points for smooth edges, and refine with feathering, anti-aliasing, and layer masks.

Master blending multiple selections into a seamless composite by refining layer masks, adjusting color with hue/saturation and curves, and aligning edges at the neck and shirt fabric.

Learn to convert an image into a smart object, crop and refine layers, and use Liquify to reshape hair and head form for a realistic composite.

Master Photoshop transform and warp tools to edit a layered composition, rotating, flipping, scaling with shift, and applying skew, distort, and perspective adjustments on a selected layer.

Explore Photoshop warp techniques, using the warp box, free transform warp, and puppet warp to create precise, joint-based deformations and make Tommy wave.

Import and review Andrew rescue images in Lightroom, reject unusable shots, adjust white balance and exposure, and select face, hair, arms, legs, and tie for a composite, exporting to Photoshop.

Cut out and stitch images using select and mask, refine edge brush, and layer masks, then blend edges with the magic wand tool, pen tool, puppet warp, and clone stamp.

Discover how to find and use high quality free stock images from Unsplash for underwater compositing, including choosing backgrounds, bubbles, and tips on JPEG edits and attribution.

Create a composite by placing Andrew and his rescue behind a background, then add water overlays with bubble elements using soft light, vibrance, and layer masks to integrate the scene.

Match color tones using a curves adjustment on an adjustment layer, aligning shadows and highlights for an underwater look, then use dodge and burn, blur, and ripple to integrate them.

Apply water overlays and texture layers, adjust with blur, soft light, vibrance, and curves, crop to match the background, and export the finished project 3 composition.

Practice compositing with multiple layers, bringing subjects into diverse backgrounds to create realistic scenes, while applying transform and warp tools, matching effects, and sharing progress in the Facebook group.

Apply Photoshop to your art, using it as a tool to express your personality and stand out as a successful artist, by drawing inspiration from artists and online resources.

Discover how to cultivate a distinctive, recognizable style and strong brand in your Photoshop art by exploring intrinsic motivation, inspiration, and constructive critique to attract clients.

Create personal art in project 4 using your Photoshop tools, embracing no-rule freedom and your own creative direction. Reflect on what stood out or resonated as you craft original work.

Master Photoshop tools for composite photography and apply skills to advance your career as a composite photographer, while embracing thoughtful reviews.