July 21, 2022

4 Top Photo Editing Skills for Using Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is the standard raster photo editing program. It is an all-encompassing program used by graphic designers and photographers of various levels of expertise.

Photoshop can do simple tweaks, high-end retouches, and strange composite pictures. These 4 top photo editing skills can help you make large or subtle improvements to your photographs quickly and efficiently.

1. Adjustment layers are important to know

Adjustments to the colors and tones of a picture may be made using this layer, which prevents the pixel values from being altered permanently. You may experiment with different color tones and colors by using adjustment layers. One way to conceive of an adjustment layer is as a veil that allows one to see through the layers below.

PSD/TIFF are the best formats to utilize when saving photos with adjustment layers. On the other hand, a compressed and flattened file format like JPEG does not allow for layering.

For hands-on practice, see this lesson:

2. Learn about the Camera Raw filter

Camera Raw Filter is most effectively used by creating a duplicate of the Background layer and then going to Filter> Convert For Smart Filters. 

Thanks to the Camera Raw filter, you can access all of the features accessible in Adobe Camera Raw while staying inside the familiar Photoshop user interface. JPEG or a raw file that has previously been converted to a JPEG may be edited further if necessary; you may quickly and easily do so. 

For hands-on practice, see this lesson:

3. Mix in some Dodge and Burn for flavor

The Dodge and Burn tools are "destructive," meaning they permanently modify pixels; a copy of the Background layer is required if you want to utilize these brushes. Now with the Dodge and Burn tools, you can simply brush over an area to brighten or darken it.

The practice of dodging and burning originated in the darkroom and is still widely used today to modify the brightness level in certain areas of a picture.

The terms "dodge" and "burn" refer to photographic editing techniques that were utilized to either brighten (indicated by the term "dodge") or darken (indicated by the term "burn"). Read more;

For hands-on practice, see this lesson:

4. Be Familiar with The Contact Sheet

You can make a contact sheet by placing the photographs you want or copies of those images in a folder. Afterward, go to the File menu and choose Automate > Contact Sheet II.

This way, you may change the paper size, layout, and image source. After all, options have been chosen, Photoshop will automatically produce contact sheets, which must then save manually.

Contact sheets were a crucial tool for analyzing and choosing photos to print back in the days when captured photographs were on film. Even if you have access to picture cataloguing software like Capture One or Lightroom, which allows you to quickly and easily study pictures, producing contact sheets that can be printed or digitally sent to another person may still be beneficial.

For hands-on practice, see this lesson:

Final Words

Follow these strategies to enhance your Photoshop design abilities. You may rapidly enhance your Photoshop abilities and make outstanding photographs if you follow these suggestions and apply them.

If I am motivated by your words, I will try to share different experiences similar to those described above routinely. You are more than welcome to give me your feedback to make my work more successful.