Photoshop For Absolute Beginners

A general information place for those just starting out with Adobe Photoshop. Also, tips on Digital Photos, Re-touching and Printing.

One of the most frustrating things about learning Photoshop is the seemingly overwhelming amount of tools and functions the program is capable of. In most cases, the average person will not need to use the majority what Photoshop has to offer unless you are planning on using it as a commercial Digital Imaging tool.

There is no lack of information available for learning Photoshop techniques but finding the right information, especially if you are just starting out, can be frustrating as well.

I have been working with Photoshop for close to 8 years. My work is mainly in photo re-touching and large format printing. I am not a technical computer person. My background is in art & design. My attempt is to offer the most simple straightforward explanations of the basic Photoshop functions for people who have never used or have just started working with Photoshop. 

One of the best places to start with Photoshop is the Tools Palette. Here is a good link for learning what each tool does: http://www.hku.hk/cc/document/photoshop/

Once you have learned a bit about Photoshop's tools you might want to learn how to use some of the Adjustment functions. Here, you will be able to make changes in brightness, contrast and color in order to make corrections and improve upon an existing image. This is a good link that describes the basic adjustment features in Photoshop. http://www.computer-darkroom.com/tutorials/tutorial_3_1.htm 

And here is a great site that offers a tutorial on how to use an Adjustment Layer to make corrections. http://www.twistedtreephoto.com/Photoshop%20tutorial/Photoshop%20tutorial1.html A little more advanced but easy to follow and valuable information.

The Use of Layers is one of the most powerful tools in Photoshop. Here is a simple basic guide that explains Layers and how they work. http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/university/tutorials/ps_layers_ep.shtml

Another good tutorial on Layers. http://www.arraich.com/ps6_tips_llayers1.htm

Once you have a general understanding of Photoshop's tools and the basic functions, you can start to do some photo editing. Here is a good tutorial that covers several retouching methods. http://www.samspublishing.com/articles/article.asp?p=29446&rl=1