Photoshop 2020 Essential Training: The Basics

Learn the core features of Photoshop 2020 for photography and design. Find out how to improve color and tone, master layers, masking, and selections, add text, retouch, and more.

Photoshop is the industry standard for creative visual expression. Whether you’re an experienced creative pro or just starting on your creative journey, learning how to use Photoshop is the best investment you can make in your work. In this course, Julieanne Kost teaches you the essentials of Photoshop 2020. Discover how to open and navigate documents, customize the Photoshop interface, and start editing photos. Julieanne shows how to crop and transform images, make detailed selections, work with layers and masks, retouch photos, and use Smart Objects and adjustment layers to apply nondestructive modifications to your images. Plus, get tips for working with type and layer effects. By the end of this course, you’ll be empowered to use Photoshop to quickly get the image results you want.

Introduction

• Welcome to the Photoshop Essential Training series

1. Opening Files

• Opening files in Photoshop
• Opening files from Bridge
• Opening files from Lightroom Classic
• Opening files from Lightroom
• Starting in Adobe Camera Raw

2. Documents and Navigation

• A tour of the Photoshop interface
• Working with multiple documents
• Panning and zooming documents
• Viewing images using different screen modes

3. Customizing the Photoshop Interface

• Arranging the panels you use most often
• Switching and saving workspaces
• Customizing the Toolbar
• Modifying keyboard shortcuts to boost productivity

4. Digital Image Essentials

• Understanding file formats
• Color modes and bit depth
• Understanding color space
• Understanding document size
• Using Image Size to change document dimensions
• Multiple Undo and the History Panel
• Saving documents

5. Cropping, Straightening, and Adjusting Canvas Size

• Using the Crop tool
• Straightening a crooked image
• Crop and change image size in one step
• Increasing canvas size
• Auto fill with Content Aware Crop

6. Layers

• Exploring layer basics
• Loading, selecting, aligning, and distributing layers
• Changing layer opacity, adding shape layers, and creating layer groups
• Merging and flattening layers
• Quickly exporting images

7. Color and Brush Essentials

• Color basics
• Brush essentials
• Brush presets and settings

8. Working with Layer Masks

• Layer Mask essentials
• Using Gradients to blend images

9. Making Selections

• Using the Marquee and Lasso tools
• Combining selections
• Using Object Select and the Quick Select tool
• Making selections based on subject and color
• Selecting soft edge objects using Select and Mask
• Removing a halo using Select and Mask

10. Local Pixel Editing and Retouching

• Removing distracting elements with the Healing Brush and Patch tools
• The magic of Content-Aware Fill
• Content Aware Move and Scale
• Using the Clone Stamp tool
• Removing larger elements from an image

11. Blend Mode Essentials

• Getting to know the Blend modes

12. Smart Object Essentials

• The advantage of Smart Objects
• Opening raw images as Smart Objects

13. Essential Transformations

• Scaling, skewing, and rotating layers with Free Transform
• Correcting perspective
• Warping images

14. Adjustment Layer Essentials

• Introducing Adjustment Layers
• Understanding the Histogram
• Refining dynamic range using Levels
• Adjusting contrast and correcting color using Curves
• Three easy ways to adjust color in images
• Custom black and white conversions
• Limiting adjustments with Clipping Masks

15. Essential Filters

• Overview of filters
• Applying filters non destructively with Smart Filters
• Sharpening images
• Applying Camera Raw as a filter
• Applying filters to multiple layers

16. Shape Layers

• Using the Shape tools
• Modifying, combining, and saving custom shapes
• Using Shapes to mask layers

17. Essential Layer Styles

• Applying layer effects and styles
• Creative layer effect styles

18. Type Essentials

• Exploring Headline (point) type
• Using leading, kerning, and tracking

Conclusion

• Next steps