Adobe Photoshop is an image editing program widely utilized by designers, web developers, graphic artists, photographers and students for editing digital or scanned images in multiple file formats.
One of the earliest programs considered a “killer app”, it shaped hardware sales and computer technology design decisions while having a moderate learning curve.
What is Photoshop?
Adobe Photoshop is computer software used for editing and manipulating digital images, widely utilized by graphic artists, web developers, photographers and other creative professionals. Common applications of Photoshop include image retouching, creating image compositions with various effects applied, website mockup creation and text/vector graphics creation. Furthermore, its feature set can be expanded through plug-ins which run independently within Adobe’s application while offering new or additional functionalities.
Adobe first released Photoshop in 1987 and since then its popularity has proliferated so dramatically that the word has entered colloquial usage to refer to any image manipulation program – not only Photoshop itself. Photoshop has become the industry standard for professional image editing and so widely adopted that many people now assume if an image appears altered using this software it has likely been “photoshopped”.
Photoshop may be considered a professional tool, but its ease-of-use and accessibility has also made it popular with hobbyists. There are numerous free online tutorials that can help novices become acquainted with its basic skills; others from commercial sources may require fees to access.
Adobe has expanded their core Photoshop software with several add-on programs such as Photoshop Elements and Lightroom that can be purchased separately or through subscription packages that include these and other creative tools such as Illustrator, Flash and Bridge. Photoshop itself has also seen regular updates – its latest release in February 2021 included features to iteratively fill multiple areas within an image and improved GPU lens blur quality.
Photoshop can be used to edit raster images using layers with transparency and alpha compositing capabilities, create and edit vector graphics such as line drawings, logos and type designs, create 3D graphics and videos and save its work in multiple file formats such as JPG, PNG, GIF PDF and SVG.
Basic Editing
Adobe Photoshop is a versatile photo-editing and design software program, used for print graphics, web graphics, product design, painting, and even photography. Popular among professional designers, Photoshop offers quick fixes for more complex edits; however, its learning curve may require many layers, masks and opacity tweaks before reaching an acceptable result – not to mention there being no fast ways of fixing image noise or pixelation issues!
The main feature of the program is its capability of working with multiple layers simultaneously. Each can support transparent overlays, alpha channels and spot colors – in addition to clipping paths – on top of multiple color models (RGB, CMYK or duotone) rendering an image below it. Layers may also be modified using effects like blur, sharpen, retouch or distortion and there are drawing tools which allow users to draw shapes, lines or brushes directly within them.
Non-destructive editing is another key feature. This allows for changes without permanently altering the original image, and saving a file in various formats can make sharing and printing much simpler.
Other key features of the application include the ability to add text, gradients and patterns; layer tools are available for drawing paths or creating ellipses; plus there’s even an on/off feature to focus on specific areas of an image.
Photoshop supports various file types and is capable of creating three dimensional designs. Furthermore, its functionality can be extended through plug-ins – independent programs developed and distributed for use with Photoshop – that extend its use even further.
Adobe makes Creative Cloud software available both as a stand-alone product and through subscription services, such as Creative Cloud subscription. Adobe releases updates more frequently than its competitors, which may lead to bugs and performance issues in some instances. Furthermore, its hardware requirements tend to be more demanding compared with some rival products and this may present problems for users switching between systems or using older computers with limited RAM memory.
Advanced Editing
Adobe Photoshop is a premier image editing software used by graphic designing communities around the globe. Renowned for its extensive feature set and inspirational nature, Photoshop has provided millions of artists with access to its various tools and techniques for photo retouching, digital painting and photo retouching – every version provides more benefits for its industry!
Photoshop has quickly become an indispensable tool for business firms and eCommerce websites, helping to perfect images for better marketing and advertising purposes. Therefore, all businesses should acquire advanced knowledge of this software if they aim to enhance the overall quality of their products and services.
Photoshop stands out among competing software due to its many vital features like layer masks, blending modes, opacity control, fill, lock and group options that give designers greater freedom in creating images they envision. These tools make the software standout among competitors on the market.
Know how to utilize cropping and resizing features effectively is also critical. These functions allow users to make adjustments without distorting an image, as well as focus on specific parts of an image while eliminating unneeded details.
An essential feature for creating natural-looking images is being able to adjust color, contrast and lighting settings. While using these features can create better results overall, too much use of any of them may result in unintended outcomes that look out of place.
Many people find Photoshop actions extremely convenient. These shortcuts make certain tasks more quickly while others can even be programmed according to your personal needs and preferences. However, be mindful that overuse of Photoshop actions could become quite distracting, leaving your thought process interrupted and potentially leading to lost momentum.
Layers palette is an indispensable asset in image editing, enabling users to selectively modify certain parts of a photo while leaving other parts untouched. It makes life much simpler for designers who wish to manipulate images without harming their original integrity.
Video Editing
Photoshop not only offers image editing features, but it can also support basic video editing features. With these basic video editing functions, users can create motion graphics, picture-in-picture effects and other elements for use in full video editing programs like Adobe Premiere or iMovie.
Video projects function similarly to still image projects, with a timeline panel that allows you to navigate through footage and adjust length, add effects, insert transitions and more. To select, either click and drag on the thumbnail for that clip with your mouse, or use left/right arrow keys to move frame by frame; alternatively select one point within a video clip and drag to shorten. There are also many common transitions built-in such as fades/crossfades for easy scrubbing through video footage.
Add audio to your video with ease using the toolbar’s musical note icon to import new audio, using the same method as still images to adjust its duration and duration timers. Furthermore, there are various audio filters that you can apply either to all or selected portions of video footage.
Use the Text Tool to add text to your clips. Since text is placed on its own layer, adjusting its size and placement within a video is simple; additionally, transition effects are available so as to add transition effects between words.
If you want to apply a filter only to specific parts of your video, converting the clip into a Smart Object may make this task simpler and more accurate. This way, the filter can only apply itself within its intended area and be easily readjusted later if necessary.
Create advanced animation by converting clips to Smart Objects and setting their Transform keyframes with the Free Transform tool, enabling you to pan, zoom and rotate them for dramatic effects over time. It is also possible to quickly apply preset animation by right-clicking any text, image or Smart Object clip – giving access to numerous different options as well as creating your own customized presets – or quickly applying preset animation by using one-click preset animation tools available via right-click menus on any text, image or Smart Object clip – creating sophisticated animated scenes within minutes!
